A
delegation of U.S. officials from the Justice and State departments will arrive
in the Turkish capital in order to assist Ankara in preparing its formal request for
the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is
believed to have orchestrated the July 15 failed coup attempt.
“Recently, officials from the U.S. Department of
Justice sent Turkey’s Justice Ministry, to myself, a letter. They expressed
that they wanted to send a delegation of specialists to Turkey or, if Turkey
wanted to send a delegation, they would accept it. They said they wanted to
talk about this,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ told reporters on Aug. 12
during a visit to the office of the governor in Turkey’s Central Anatolian
province of Yozgat.
Bozdağ said the United States agreed to send four
specialists to Turkey by Aug. 22, three from the Justice Department and one
from the State Department.
“They will hold meetings with their Turkish
counterparts on Aug. 23 and 24,” the minister said, adding that Gülen’s
extradition was no longer a bilateral issue but a “common issue followed by the
entire world.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also
said “signs of cooperation” were coming from the U.S. over Ankara’s extradition
request, stressing that the entire world knew the Fethullahist Terror
Organization (FETÖ) was behind the coup.
“Our primary expectation from the U.S. is to extradite
Gülen – in other words, FETÖ. We see signs of cooperation on this issue,”
Çavuşoğlu said during an interview with Turkish private broadcaster NTV on Aug.
12.
“A delegation is coming from the U.S. Justice
Department to meet their counterparts here. Later on, we also expect a
high-level visit,” Çavuşoğlu said.
According to the foreign minister, Turkey will
repeat its extradition request once all formal documents are ready, although
Bozdağ and Çavuşoğlu will also go to the U.S. and submit the files in person.
The minister also said Secretary of State John
Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden expressed their intention to come to Turkey,
but fell short of confirming previous comments made by Ankara that Kerry would visit on Aug. 24.
Meanwhile, U.S. State Department Spokesperson
Elizabeth Trudeau was asked about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Aug.
10 ultimatum that Washington would eventually have to make a choice between
“Turkey and FETÖ.”
Declining to specifically address Erdoğan’s
remarks, Trudeau said Washington “obviously” did not have to make a choice,
adding she did not perceive it as a choice either.
“I think that the legal process governing
extradition is very clear; it’s laid out in a treaty. And our support and
partnership for Turkey should be unquestioned,” Trudeau said.
In her answer to a separate question, again
regarding Gülen’s extradition, Trudeau reiterated the U.S. point that the
process is a “legal, technical” one.
“It’s very clear how this process unfolds. It’s
not influenced by emotion. It’s not influenced by politics. We have received
documents. We are – continue to review them and we continue to be in close
touch with our Turkish friends on this. But it’s a process that is governed by
the law and the legal system,” she said.
When asked about Trudeau’s response, however,
Bozdağ stood by Erdoğan’s remarks, underlining that Washington’s rejection of
the extradition request would mean that it “prefers Fethullah Gülen’s
friendship to that of Turkey.”
“There is a criminal act and I do not believe it
is possible for the U.S. administration to have the slightest doubt that
Fethullah Gülen is the perpetrator of this crime. The entire world knows who
the perpetrator is. Under such circumstances, the refusal to extradite
would surely mean that it prefers Fethullah Gülen’s friendship to that of
Turkey,” Bozdağ said, adding that Washington’s decision was a political one,
regardless of the legal processes.
Not extraditing Gülen would “mean that [the U.S.]
sacrificed Turkey for the sake of a terrorist,” he said.
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