Turkey formally asks U.S. to arrest alleged coup plotter

Turkey has made a formalrequest to the United States for the arrest of U.S.-basedTurkish cleric Fethullah Gulen on charges of orchestrating anattempted military coup on July 15, Turkish broadcaster NTV saidon Tuesday.

Turkey blames members of Gulen's religious movement for thefailed putsch two months ago, in which rogue soldierscommandeered tanks and fighters jets, bombing parliament andseizing bridges in a bid to take over power.

• Who is alleged coup plotterFethullah Gulen?
• Decades of planning went into Turkey's failed coup, investigators allege

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the issue withU.S. President Barack Obama at the G20 summit in China earlierthis month. A senior U.S. administration official said at thetime that Obama had explained to Erdogan that the decision wouldbe a legal, not a political one.

NTV said the justice ministry had requested Gulen's arrestfor "ordering and leading the coup attempt."The ministry could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.

Living in exile

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. stateof Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied involvement in the coupattempt.

Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 100,000 soldiers,police and civil servants since the failed coup on suspicion oflinks to Gulen's network. At least 40,000 have been detained.

Erdogan has said Washington had "no excuse" for keeping holdof Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who Turkish officials say hasbuilt up a network of followers over decades inside the armedforces and civil service to take over Turkey.

Any arrest of Gulen could be a first step towardsextradition. But lawyers say the process could take years. Evenif approved by a judge, an extradition request would still haveto go to the U.S. Secretary of State, who can consider non-legalfactors such as humanitarian arguments.

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