Erdogan Slams Germany for Granting Asylum to Gulen's Followers
18:51 03.11.2016(updated 18:58 03.11.2016)
Germany has become an asylum for the followers of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, suspected by Ankara of masterminding the July coup attempt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.
ANKARA (Sputnik) – In late October, the German interior ministry confirmed that 35 Turkish nationals with diplomatic passports had applied for asylum in the country since the failed military coup attempt in Turkey.
"… Germany tells us that, in accordance with our treaties, they may extradite only those people, who are being accused of grave crimes, but not political ones… Germany has become an asylum for terrorists and preferred to defend members of the terrorist group… I cannot understand, how the major EU state can support terrorists," Erdogan said in Ankara.
According to Erdogan, Turkey has transferred 4,000 documents to German Chancellor Angela Merkel proving the guilt of Gulen's supporters seeking asylum in Germany.
"If German leadership doubts that Gulen's supporters are terrorists, it should visit Ankara, the parliament and look at what happened here on July 15," Erdogan stressed.
On July 15, the military coup attempt took place in Turkey, killing more than 240 people and injuring over 2,000. The coup attempt was suppressed the next day. Ankara has accused dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his followers of playing a key role in the coup.
Following the coup, thousands of people, mostly officials, legal and educational workers, were detained or dismissed over alleged ties to Gulen's movement.
© Sputnik
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