UPDATE 2-Turkey says Trump working on extraditing wanted cleric Gulen
"In Argentina, Trump told Erdogan they were working on extraditing (Fethullah) Gulen and other people," Mevlut Cavusoglu said, referring to the G20 summit where the leaders met two weeks ago.
Turkey has long sought the extradition of Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed U.S. exile for nearly two decades. A former ally of Erdogan, he is blamed by Turkish authorities for the failed coup when rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and helicopters, attacked parliament and shot unarmed civilians.
Gulen denies any involvement in the failed putsch. Trump said last month he was not considering extraditing the preacher as part of efforts to ease Turkish pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
Erdogan said last week Turkey would start new initiatives abroad to target the financing of Gulen supporters.
"I have recently seen a credible probe by the FBI on how the Gulen organisation avoids taxes," Cavusoglu told a conference in Doha.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on whether the law enforcement agency was investigating individuals or entities with ties to Gulen for tax evasion. U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, a Democrat, said that reports Trump was considering extraditing Gulen show his "affinity for strongmen."
"Mr. Gulen does not deserve to be a pawn in Trump's attempts to cover up the murder of a U.S. resident for the increasingly lawless Saudi royal family," Pascrell said in a statement. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; additional reporting by Amanda Becker in Washington; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Mark Potter and Lisa Shumaker)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
- READ MORE ON:
- gulen
- gulen ocakbasi
- gã¼len adam
- donald trump
- ivanka trump
- melania trump
- turkish bath
- turkish coffee
- turkish delight
- turkey
- turkey creek
- cold turkey
- the wonder weeks
- two weeks notice
- saudi arabia
- crown prince of saudi arabia
- oil reserves in saudi arabia
- gulen u.s
- president donald trump
- trump
ALSO READ
No country can see any conflict as ‘not my war’: Turkish envoy and author Firat Sunel
Turkish central bank raises credit card cash withdrawal rates
Soccer-Turkish league violence unacceptable, says FIFA chief Infantino
Soccer-Turkish league violence unacceptable, says FIFA chief Infantino
Turkish warplanes strike Kurdish militant positions in Iraq after attack kills soldier, wounds 4