By Canadian Press

Turkish PM says US should ‘speed up’ cleric’s extradition

Aug 20, 2016 | 8:00 AM

ISTANBUL — Turkey wants the United States to speed up procedures for extraditing U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of orchestrating last month’s violent coup attempt, the country’s prime minister said Saturday.

Binali Yildirim was speaking with foreign media representatives in Istanbul days before a delegation of U.S. Justice Department and State Department officials are due to arrive in Turkey to discuss Turkey’s demand that Gulen be returned to Turkey to face trial for the brutal July 15 coup. U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden is also scheduled to visit next week.

Washington has asked for evidence of Gulen’s involvement and says the regular extradition process must take its course. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, has denied knowledge or involvement in the coup attempt that led to more than 270 deaths.

Yildirim said Turkey and the United States have an extradition agreement and the process should not be delayed.

“We want the process to be accelerated,” he said. “This man was the leader of the coup. What are we waiting for?”

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“The United States has every kind of information on the incidents this terror organization and its leader have been involved in,” Yildirim added. “Our request is clear: that he be temporarily detained and then returned.”

Yildirim said Turkey had sent Washington 84 files on Gulen before the coup and four other files after it.

The Turkish government has declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen’s supporters in the aftermath of the coup, raising concerns among Turkey’s allies and human rights groups. Some 35,000 people have been detained for questioning and more than 17,000 of them have been formally arrested to face trial, including soldiers, police, judges and journalists.

Tens of thousands more people with suspected links to Gulen have been suspended or dismissed from their jobs in the judiciary, media, education, health care, military and local government.

Yildirim said the coup has prompted a restructuring of Turkey’s intelligence services, adding that both its domestic and foreign intelligence services will be strengthened and placed under one umbrella organization.

Ayse Wieting, The Associated Press