The cleric accused of fomenting the failed coup says US ‘must resist temptation’ to extradite him to Turkey

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Authorities in Turkey have issued warrants for the detention of 47 former executives or senior journalists of Zaman newspaper, as the reclusive cleric accused by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of orchestrating a failed coup demanded the US resist demands for his extradition.



At least one journalist, former Zaman columnist Şahin Alpay, was detained at his home early on Wednesday, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Zaman, which was linked to Fethullah Gülen’s religious movement, was raided by police and seized by the government in March as part of a clampdown on the group.

Warrants were issued earlier this week against 42 other journalists, of whom 16 have been detained for questioning. Turkey has detained more than 13,000 people in the military, judiciary and other institutions in purges since the attempted putsch on July 15.



Meanwhile Gülen accused Erdoğan of “blackmailing” the US into extraditing him from Pennsylvania, where he lives.

“His goal: to ensure my extradition, despite a lack of credible evidence and virtually no prospect for a fair trial,” he wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Times. “The temptation to give Mr Erdoğan whatever he wants is understandable. But the United States must resist it.”

Fethullah Gülen: alleged coup mastermind – and friendly neighbor Read more

Gülen has lived in Pennsylvania in voluntary exile since 1999. He is spiritual leader of the Hizmet movement, which promotes moderate Islam but which Erdoğan has called a terrorist group.

The Turkish president accused Gülen of orchestrating the 15 July aborted coup, in which Ankara said more than 290 people were killed.

A subsequent crackdown has seen more than 13,000 people detained and tens of thousands more sacked from their jobs in the civil service, schools and universities.

Gülen, who lives on the edge of the scenic Poconos area, denies having anything to do with the failed coup and accused Erdoğan’s government of shifting towards “a dictatorship” that was “polarising the population” and “fuelling the fanatics”.

“The United States must not accommodate an autocrat who is turning a failed putsch into a slow-motion coup of his own against constitutional government,” Gülen wrote.

The US government has asked for firm evidence in reply to Ankara’s request to extradite Gülen.

Last week, state-run media reported that Turkey had cut his modest state pension and cancelled his social security rights.