Turkish Justice Ministry calls for US to detain Gulen

Turkey’s Justice Ministry has sent to the U.S. its first official provisional arrest request for Fetullah Gulen, who is accused of leading the failed July coup that martyred 240 people, to U.S., according to ministry sources.

The sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said the written official request claimed that the July 15 coup attempt was carried out under “his command and control”.

The letter stated that the coup attempt was carried out with the instructions of U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen.

“This person who ordered the July 15, 2016 bloody coup and committed many other crimes has been sought for arrest”, the official request said.

The request also included Ankara chief prosecutor’s warrant for Gulen’s arrest.

Turkish officials last month submitted a formal request for the extradition of Gulen, who is also accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Turkey’s government has said the defeated coup, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO network.