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Turkish legislators press case for Gulen extradition

A group of parliamentarians from Turkey visited Washington to try to ease tensions with the United States following a failed July 15 coup attempt.
Demonstrators wave Turkish flags as they shout slogans demanding the extradition of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government blame for a failed coup attempt last week, during a protest near the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSIOIV

Turkey has sent multiparty parliamentary delegations to half a dozen Western countries, including the United States, Canada and Britain, to explain the Erdogan government’s massive crackdown following a failed July 15 coup and press the US government for extradition of opposition figure Fethullah Gulen.

In Washington on Aug. 1, Taha Ozhan, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and chairman of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told a small audience at The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, a think tank that is close to the Turkish government, that “almost 99% of Turks think the coup was orchestrated by Gulen himself.”

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