“US institutions, through politically motivated decisions, challenge Turkey. I categorically disrespect and mistrust the decisions of the American judicial branch, related to the so-called trial on violation of the embargo,” Erdogan said at a meeting of the Turkish Judicial Council which was broadcast by the TRT broadcaster.
The Turkish president once again accused the United States of protecting Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara considers to be behind the 2016 military takeover attempt.
“We insist on the extradition of this terrorist, but those who patronize him, refuse. Meanwhile, they asked us to extradite 12 terrorists, and we extradited them. We forwarded 4,500 boxes with documents about FETO [the Gulen movement] to the United States. They have no respect for the rights and law,” Erdogan added.
On January 4, acting US Attorney Joon Kim said that a jury unanimously convicted Atilla of a scheme to send billions of dollars to Iran in violation of US sanctions. Following the ruling, Ankara said the decision to convict the banker was unlawful.
READ MORE: US Trial of Turkish Banker Part of Attempt to Stage New Coup in Turkey — Erdogan
On July 15, 2016, an attempted military coup took place in Turkey, leaving over 240 people killed. Ankara accused Gulen, who has been living in the United States since 1999, and his followers of orchestrating the attempt, while the cleric himself has refuted the allegations.