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Kerry calls on Turkey to present evidence about Gulen's alleged involvement in coup

Xinhua, July 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday called on Turkey to present evidence that U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind last week' s failed coup attempt.

"With respect to Mr. Gulen, we have consistently said to our friends in Turkey, our allies in Turkey, that we need evidence," Kerry told reporters at the Pledging Conference in Support of Iraq in Washington. "We have a very strict set of requirements that have to be met for an extradition to take place."

More than 290 people, includes at least 190 civilians and 100 coup plotters, were killed in the coup attempt that swept Turkey on Friday night but was foiled by Saturday morning. The Turkish government claimed the failed coup was organized by Gulen's followers and has sent official request to the U.S. government for his extradition.

Kerry said he had asked his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to send evidence about Gulen's alleged involvement in the attempted coup, rather than "allegations" , adding that "we need to have evidence which we can then make a judgment about."

The top U.S. diplomat also said that the U.S. supported the Turkish government's putdown of the coup attempt.

"We support the democratic government. We support the duly elected officials. We condemn this coup and we are clear about our desire to see democracy sustained and flourish in Turkey," Kerry said.

"We want to make certain that as the response to the coup is implemented it fully respects that democracy that we are supporting," he added.

In a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama urged that the investigations and prosecution of the coup's perpetrators be conducted in ways that "reinforce public confidence in democratic institutions and the rule of law." Endit