Turkey formally requests extradition of cleric from U.S. as purge widens

Turkey has formally requested the extradition of cleric Fethullah Gulen from the United States, the Prime Minister said Tuesday, as the government widens its purge following a failed military coup over the weekend.

Exclusive: Erdogan vows revenge

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames Gulen, a longtime bitter rival, for the attempted coup that began Friday night, leaving at least 232 people dead and leading to mass arrests and dismissals.

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Updated 9:49 PM EDT, Tue July 19, 2016

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Who is Fethullah Gulen?

03:56 - Source: CNN

Erdogan told CNN in an exclusive interview Monday that the extradition request was coming soon.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced the request Tuesday in Parliament and on Twitter referred to Gulen as a “terrorist leader.”

The Muslim cleric, living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, has denied any involvement in the coup attempt.

Gulen, in a statement released Tuesday, said Erdogan “once again demonstrated he will go to any length necessary to solidify his power and persecute his critics. It is ridiculous, irresponsible and false to suggest I had anything to do with the horrific failed coup. I urge the U.S. government to reject any effort to abuse the extradition process to carry out political vendettas.”

Gulen, who lives in the United States, previously said any attempt to overthrow the country “is a betrayal to our unity and is treason.”

Can Gulen be extradited?

Under the U.S.-Turkey extradition agreement, Washington can only extradite a person if he or she has committed an “extraditable act.” Treason – such as that implied by Erdogan’s demand for Gulen’s extradition – is not listed as such an act in the countries’ treaty.

Does the U.S. have to extradite Gulen?

The Turkish President's supporters celebrate after soldiers surrendered on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge.

When asked what evidence the government had that Gulen was behind the coup, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Tuesday that the attempt itself was the biggest piece of evidence, and that Turkey would provide thousands of pieces of evidence to the United States of Gulen’s involvement.

He compared the coup attempt to the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, saying it was clear Gulen was behind it, just as the United States knew al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was behind 9/11.

Security forces gutted

The request for Gulen’s extradition is the latest move by the Turkish government to rein in dissent in the country.

More than 9,300 people are in detention in the fallout from the failed coup, Kurtulmus said.

The government has gutted some of the security forces, dismissing almost 9,000 people from the Interior Ministry, mostly police officers, and hundreds of others from various ministries.

Among those detained are at least 118 generals and admirals, accounting for a third of the general-rank command of the Turkish military, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.

Some 15,200 public education employees were suspended and are being investigated for possible links to Gulen, the Ministry of Education said.

Authorities have revoked the licenses of 21,000 teachers working in private education institutions who are being investigated under the same auspices, state news agency Anadolu reported.

More than 80 judges are also among those arrested, as are lawyers, senior aides and police.

Police try to stop people from attacking a judge, suspected in the failed coup plot, in Erzurum, Turkey on Tuesday, July 19. Turkey has fired or suspended about 50,000 people as the government intensifies a crackdown following last weekend's failed coup attempt. Teachers, journalists, police and judges have been affected.

Police escort Turkish soldiers, accused of taking part in the attempted coup, as they leave a courthouse in Istanbul's Bakirkoy neighborhood on Saturday, July 16.

Turkish police officers cover the eyes of soldiers as they are transported in a bus from the courthouse in Istanbul on July 16.

Akin Ozturk, front row, center, a four-star general and former commander of the Turkish air force, is among those in police custody whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has accused of having led the failed coup attempt.

In a mass detention in Ankara, dozens of detainees are forced to kneel, partially stripped.

A man waves a Turkish flag from a car roof during a July 16 march around Kizilay Square in Ankara after the attempted military coup.

Damaged vehicles are abundant outside the presidential palace in Ankara on July 16.

People kick and beat a Turkish soldier suspected in the attempted coup on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge on July 16.

Women react after people took over a military position on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.

People gather outside the Turkish Parliament in Ankara during an extraordinary session after the failed coup attempt.

Turkey Prime Minister Binali Yildirim addresses the Turkish Parliament after the failed coup attempt.

A protester rests on a bench as smoke billows from the Turkish military headquarters in Ankara.

People stand under a huge Turkish flag during a march around Kizilay Square in Ankara in reaction to the attempted coup.

Members of the Turkish military surrender on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge on after a failed coup attempt.

People protesting against the coup wave a Turkish flag on top of a monument in Istanbul's Taksim Square.

Clothes and weapons belonging to soldiers involved in the coup attempt are scattered on Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.

A Turkish police officer in Istanbul embraces a man on a tank in the wake of the violence overnight.

Smoke billows from the direction of the Presidential Palace in Ankara on July 16.

People gather on top of a Turkish military tank in Ankara in the morning after the coup attempt. National intelligence officials said the coup was put down and that the government remains in control.

Turkish people wave national flags from a car in Istanbul.

People gather around a car damaged by a tank in Kizilay Square early on July 16.

People take to the streets near the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge during clashes with military forces in Istanbul.

People escape the clashes in Ankara early Saturday.

Tanks move into position as Turkish citizens attempt to stop them in Ankara.

Citizens in Sivas rush to the streets during the chaotic coup attempt.

A man approaches Turkish military with his hands up at the entrance to the partially closed Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.

A wounded man is given medical care at the entrance to the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul after clashes with Turkish military.

People react in front of the Justice and Development Party's headquarters in Karabuk.

Soldiers secure an area as supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim Square.

Turkish military members make their way through the streets of Istanbul.

Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in front of soldiers in Istanbul's Taksim Square.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks on CNN Turk via a FaceTime call in Istanbul after members of the country's military attempted to overthrow the government.

Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's iconic Bosphorus Bridge.

Turkish security officers detain police officers, seen in black, in Istanbul, during a security shutdown on the Bosphorus Bridge.

A military airplane is seen flying over Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged people to take to the streets and stand up to the military.

People take cover near the Bosphorus Bridge as military airplanes fly overhead.

Turkish soldiers are seen on the Asian side of Istanbul.

A Turkish security officer stands guard on the side of the road.

Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge.

Failed military coup in Turkey

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A photo emerged over the weekend of dozens of detainees, who appeared to be all men, seen stripped to the waist in a horse stable, their hands bound.

Asked about that, Kurtulmus said it was “normal procedure for police under these circumstances,” adding that their “crime is very heavy.”

Two pilots who downed a Russian jet last year are also among “the detained soldiers who attempted the coup,” said Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag.

Erdogan continued to laud Turkish citizens for thwarting the plotters. “Our response to the coup attempt has proven that our democracy is strong,” he said.

Friends turned foes

Erdogan and Gulen are former allies whose relationship fell into a bitter feud in 2013.

Erdogan supporters outside Gulen’s Pennsylvania home have been calling him inflammatory names following the weekend violence. Gulen’s supporters accused Erdogan of scapegoating the cleric to grab more power.

15th September 1980: Troops seal off a main road in the Turkish capital Ankara after the military coup led by General Kenan Evren. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Related video Turkey has a long history of military coups

Gulen is a reclusive cleric who leads a popular movement called Hizmet, which includes hundreds of secular co-ed schools, free tutoring centers, hospitals and relief agencies credited with addressing Turkey’s social problems.

Gulen supporters – known as Gulenists – describe the 75-year-old as a moderate Muslim cleric who champions interfaith dialogue.

WikiLeaks releases emails

Whistleblower site WikiLeaks seems to think Turkey’s purge has spread to cyberspace. It said it has come under a sustained cyberattack after announcing on social media its plan to leak hundreds of thousands of documents on “Turkish power.”

The WikiLeaks website on Tuesday evening leaked 300,000 emails and thousands of documents in the wake of the failed coup.

The website appeared operational Tuesday, and WikiLeaks said it planned to go ahead with publishing the #ErdoganEmails, adding that all 300,000 were internal to Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party.

The most recent emails were sent July 6 and the oldest dates back to 2010, the group said.

It was unclear when the other 500,000 documents would be released. The organization said the emails date up until July 7.

Death penalty talks

International pressure is mounting on Erdogan after he responded to the failed coup with an iron fist.

People kick a Turkish soldier who participated in the attempted coup, on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge.

In the CNN interview Monday, he said refused to rule out the death penalty for the thousands arrested despite warnings from the European Unionthat reintroducing capital punishment woulddash Turkey’s chances of joining the the EU.

The EU official overseeing Turkey’s bid to join, Johannes Hahn, expressed concern over Turkey’s post-coup purge, raising suspicions that a list of people to arrest had been prepared well in advance of the political upheaval.

A man waves a Turkish flag from the roof of a car during a march around Ankara's Kizilay Square.

“(That) the lists are available already after the event indicates that this was prepared, that at a certain moment (they) should be used,” he said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also warned that Turkey must respect the law and its democratic institutions if it wanted to remain part of NATO.

CNN’s Andrew Carey, Sara Ganim, Nic Robertson, Salma Abdelaziz, Onur Cakir and Gul Tuysuz contributed to this report.