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'107 FETÖ fugitives have been brought back to Turkey so far'

Anadolu Agency TÜRKIYE
Published March 27,2019
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A total of 107 FETÖ terror group members who fled to abroad have been brought to Turkey so far, the country's justice minister said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency in the capital Ankara, Abdulhamit Gül said that Turkey has requested extradition of 504 people from 91 countries.

"The number of FETÖ members brought to Turkey [so far] has been 107," Gül said.

Gül also recalled that Turkey has sent seven requests to the U.S. to extradite the ringleader of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) Fetullah Gülen, a longtime resident of Pennsylvania.

Turkey met the judicial cooperation requests by the U.S. over the FETÖ probe in Turkey and extraditions, he added.

"Whatever necessary for the extradition of Gülen has been completed in all aspects, in accordance with extradition law. From now time, whatever actually needs to happen is extradition to be performed," he said.

In his interview, the justice minister said that they requested an appointment to meet with William Barr, the recently appointed U.S. Attorney General, to discuss judicial cooperation between Turkey and the U.S.

"Following the elections, we will have the opportunity to discuss [with Barr] these face to face," he added.

FETÖ and its leader Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, including the military, police and the judiciary.