Turkey requests extradition of Gulenists from European countries: Who are FETO members in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland is on a two-day visit to Turkey, which is confirmation that the steps taken in the crackdown on terrorists of the FETO organization, carried out by the government led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, do not exceed the framework of democracy and the rule of law, according to information from official Turkish diplomatic circles, writes the news agency Patria.

He recalls that when a military coup was carried out in Turkey in 1980, the country was suspended from membership in the Council of Europe due to drastic human rights violations, and the suspension was lifted in 1986.

At that time, 650,000 people were arrested, and 1,683,000 were placed on a blacklist. As many as 230,000 people were charged, and the death penalty was proposed for 7,000 of them. 517 people were sentenced to death, of whom 50 were executed.

In Turkey, around 60,000 people of various professions and from different structures of society and government have been arrested so far on suspicion of involvement in the failed military coup. No one has yet come forward with concrete evidence that these people are being treated unlawfully, tortured, or that their human rights are being violated.

However, what should not be forgotten, this diplomat notes, is that on the night of the attempted military coup, President Erdogan survived an assassination attempt, and the military killed more than 250 citizens on the streets who sided with the democratically elected government.

- Therefore, the arrival of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Jagland, is a good sign that Turkey is on a democratic path. He congratulated the authorities on all the steps they have taken in the three weeks since the failed military coup, says a high-ranking Turkish diplomat.

He emphasizes that Turkey, in addition to its internal fight against the terrorist PKK and as a member of the global coalition against ISIL, is now facing one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations in the world, which has a strong infrastructure in almost all countries.

During the three-year investigation into the terrorist organization FETO, led by Fethullah Gulen who lives in the USA, a large number of his followers have fled from Turkey to European countries.

Turkey is requesting the extradition of Gulen from the USA and believes that this country, with which Turkey has always been an ally, will do so.

-We have also requested the extradition of Gulenists, members of the FETO movement, from European countries and believe that they will help us now, just as we helped them when it came to terrorists they were seeking, says this high-ranking Turkish diplomat.

When asked by a Patria journalist whether they have information that any members of the FETO movement live and work in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and whether they have requested their extradition from the official authorities of our country, the Turkish diplomat said he could not give a concrete answer to that question.

-The Gulenists are very cunning, and this is a huge terrorist organization that has its branches worldwide. They have infiltrated all pores of society, in countries around the world, through education and trade. These are some of the sources of funding for their terrorist activities, such as this failed military coup, explains this Turkish diplomat.

Also, he did not want to give a concrete answer to the question of whether certain Turkish educational institutions operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina are connected to Fethullah Gulen, nor whether the authorities in our country have been asked to close them.

-When we talk about the terrorist organization FETO, we are talking about its activities worldwide, and that includes Bosnia and Herzegovina. We do not single out any country, and we will not do so now, he says.