ANKARA (Sputnik) — Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag will travel to the United States next week to discuss possible extradition of opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen to Turkey, NTV televison reported Friday citing a government source.
Ankara accuses Gulen, 75, who has been residing in self-exile in the US since 1999, of masterminding last Friday's failed military coup that killed more than 246 people and injured over 2,000.
Turkey has since introduced a three-months state of emergency, detained over 10,000 people and fired tens of thousands of government employees, including judges, civil servants and educators.
Turkish leadership, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogann, has floated the idea of re-introducing the death penalty to punish suspected perpetrators of the failed attempt to overthrow the government.
