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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Chancellor Angela Merkel to send Turkish-based Islamic clergy back to Turkey to be tried as terrorists.
During a visit to Berlin this week, Erdogan said that Germany should designate as terrorists all supporters of the American religious Fethullah Gulen, former ally of the Turkish president who currently lives in Pennsylvania. The appeal was launched while Erdogan is criticized for allegedly ordering the kidnapping of so-called Gulenists from other foreign countries.
Since he survived a coup in July 2016, Erdogan has continued to consolidate his power and purge the state of his enemies. Thousands of journalists, politicians and civil servants lost their jobs and were jailed for supporting Gülen and the coup leaders.
Erdogan accuses Gülen's supporters of the coup and has always lobbied for the religious to be extradited from the United States. The Obama and Trump administrations refused to extradite the 76-year-old Turk because the Erdogan government did not have the crime. German officials also said they needed more time to analyze the situation.
Gülen, meanwhile, denied any involvement in the coup military state.
At the same time, Gülen's ideological movement has established private schools in more than 100 countries around the world, including the United States, and his disciples regularly teach at these schools. Ankara has used diplomatic relations to pressure these countries to close schools and extradite teachers, but sometimes Turkey uses force.
In July, a Turkish teacher kidnapped in Mongolia was released when the Mongolian authorities were informed of the incident and apprehended the flight leaving the country to bring him back to Turkey.
In Kosovo, a country Turkey regards as part of its sphere of influence, six Turkish men were suddenly deported in April without access to lawyers or due process. Turkish media reported that the men had been extradited with the help of officials in Kosovo, but the incident subsequently divided government officials who appeared to be taken by surprise. Kosovo's Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj then sacked the country's interior minister and the head of the intelligence agency about the incident.
"It was really a mistake in our system, not just justice but our entire system," Haradinaj said. Newsweek. "A survey has been conducted at all levels of our system to identify gaps and we regret that this has ended in this way."
Kosovo officials said Newsweek Erdogan had planned to kidnap about 100 people from their country and the government is trying to prevent such incidents from happening again. Earlier reports also claimed that Turkish officials had sought the help of Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, to kidnap Gülen from Pennsylvania and send him back to Turkey, although Flynn is challenging this allegation.
Erdogan and Gülen had been close allies for decades, but their relationship collapsed in 2013 after the cleric criticized Erdogan's handling of street protests.
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