Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday suggested that Ankara could free a detained US pastor if the US handed over a Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania, whom it has blamed for a failed military coup last year, an idea that Washington appeared to dismiss.
Turkey has been seeking the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan whose supporters are blamed for trying to overthrow Erdogan’s government in July last year.
Gulen has denied any role in the coup attempt, in which 250 people were killed.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said the Turkish government has yet to provide enough evidence for the US Department of Justice to act.
Thousands of people have been detained in a crackdown since the failed coup, including US Christian missionary Andrew Brunson, who ran a small church in Izmir on Turkey’s western coast.
Brunson has been held since October last year. Turkish media have said the charges against him include membership of Gulen’s network, considered a terrorist organization by the Turkish government.
The US has said that Brunson has been wrongfully imprisoned and has called for his release.
In a speech to police officers at the presidential palace in Ankara, Erdogan appeared to link the fate of the two men.
“‘Give us the pastor back,’ they say. You have one pastor as well. Give him [Gulen] to us,” Erdogan said. “Then we will try him [Brunson] and give him to you.”
“The [pastor] we have is on trial. Yours is not — he is living in Pennsylvania. You can give him easily. You can give him right away,” he added.
A decree issued last month gave Erdogan authority to approve the exchange of foreigners detained or convicted in Turkey with people held in other countries “in situations required by national security or national interests.”
Asked about Erdogan’s suggestion of a swap of Gulen for Brunson, US Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: “I can’t imagine that we would go down that road.”
“We have received extradition requests for him [Gulen],” she told a daily briefing. “I have nothing new for you on that. We continue to call for Pastor Brunson’s release.”
She said US diplomats were able to visit Brunson on Sept. 18.
“We continue to advocate for his release. He was wrongfully imprisoned in Turkey and we’d like to see him brought home,” Nauert added.
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