The United States has declared that the country is to follow the extradition process of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric whom Ankara routinely blames for woes inside Turkey, including the recent coup attempt, which the cleric has condemned.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest made the announcement on Tuesday after US President Barack Obama and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed Gulen’s status in a phone call following Ankara’s request to extradite the cleric.
“There also is due process to which people who live in the United States are entitled to. And we will make sure that due process is followed as well,” Earnest said.
A decision to extradite Gulen “is a legal decision that is made pursuant to a legal process, part of which is codified in a long-standing treaty between the United States and Turkey. So that’s the process that (we) will follow,” he noted.
