Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the U.S. Saturday to extradite a Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania following a failed military coup. In a televised speech, Erdogan said Turkey had never refused any request by the U.S. to extradite “terrorists” and invoked Washington and Ankara’s relationship as “strategic partners” in an effort to force the return of Fethullah Gulen.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday the Obama administration would entertain an extradition request but Turkey would have to prove wrongdoing by Gulen. Gulen denied knowledge of the coup to reporters at his Pennsylvania compound Saturday. The cleric said that he knows only a “minute fraction” of his legions of sympathizers in Turkey, so he cannot speak to their “potential involvement” in the takeover attempt. FULL REPORT
