Trump Administration Pushes Back on Gulen Extradition Reports
- Turkish President Erdogan has sought to have cleric returned
- Justice Department says any decision would be based on facts
Fethullah Gulen
Photographer: Chris Post/APThis article is for subscribers only.
The Trump administration says it isn’t reopening discussions about extraditing a prominent critic of Turkey’s president as part of an effort to lower tensions over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul last month.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long sought to have Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric who now lives in Pennsylvania, sent back to Turkey. That effort accelerated after a failed 2016 coup against Erdogan that he blames on Gulen’s followers. Gulen, who was an ally of Erdogan until the two men had a falling out, has rejected the accusations. So far, the U.S. hasn’t moved against him.