Ankara has formally requested that Berlin arrest and extradite a man suspected of playing a major role in last year’s failed coup, Deutsche Welle reports.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that Turkey sent a diplomatic note to Germany, demanding the extradition of fugitive Adil Oksuz.
Cavusoglu told broadcaster TRT Haber that Ankara sent the note following reports that Oksuz was seen in Germany.
“If this person is there, we asked that he be located, taken into custody and returned to Turkey,” the minister said.
Oksuz, a theology academic, is accused of being a follower of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says was behind last year’s failed coup attempt. Turkish media reported that Oksuz has been seen in the German cities of Frankfurt and Ulm and was granted a temporary residence permit in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. The Turkish government says that Oksuz was a “civilian imam” for air force personnel who bombed parliament last July as part of efforts to topple the government.
Oksuz was arrested at Akinci air base once the coup bid collapsed, but was released two days later by an alleged Gulenist judge. He has been on the run ever since and is one of Turkey’s most wanted fugitives.
