Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania, whom Turkey accuses of organizing a failed coup attempt in July 2016, says he has no plans to flee the US and will accept extradition if Washington responds positively to Ankara's request for his extradition, reports Tanjug. .
In an interview with Reuters at the secure compound where he lives in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, the 79-year-old Gulen denied claims made by the Turkish government in February that he intended to flee to Canada to avoid extradition.
"Those rumors are not true at all. If the US sees fit to extradite me, I will go to Turkey," Gulen said.
Gulen, however, expresses hope that the administration of US President Donald Trump will not allow his extradition, especially after former national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned just a few weeks after Trump's inauguration.
Flynn, by the way, openly advocated for Gulen's extradition, reminds the British agency. Gulen says he feels sorry for Flynn, but admits his resignation could help his case.
A Muslim cleric condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's strengthening of power and control over the media, calling him a dictator, while calling on the Trump administration and European governments to do more to encourage the establishment of political freedoms in Turkey.
"If Erdogan hears a strong voice from the US or the European Union, the European Parliament, saying, 'What you are doing is wrong...your justice system is not working,' then he might change his mind," Gulen said.
On the other hand, he welcomed the political opposition in Turkey and stressed that any new effort to remove Erdogan from power should be done through peaceful protests and elections, not through undemocratic means.
"I have never supported a coup or overthrow," Gulen pointed out. The British agency states that he is in poor health and has difficulty walking.
Erdogan said in May that he would persist "to the end" with Turkey's request for the extradition of Gulen, who denies any involvement in last year's attempted coup in Turkey, but there has been no progress in meeting Ankara's demands so far, Reuters notes.
U.S. officials have said unofficially that while Erdogan has appealed directly to Trump on the issue, Turkey has not provided enough evidence for the U.S. Justice Department to act.
Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, has been living in self-imposed exile in the US since 1999, and is the president of a movement he presents as humanitarian-religious.
His followers operate a global network of schools and businesses linked to the Gulenist movement, and Turkey's National Security Council designated the network a terrorist group two months before the failed coup attempt.
Gulen's followers, however, argue that his global movement - known as "Hizmet" - aims to spread moderate Islam by promoting Western-style education, free markets and interfaith communication.
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