FETÖ responsible for negative perceptions of Turkey: Justice minister

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has accused on Wednesday the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) for carrying out smear campaigns against Turkey in the international arena, including in NATO, the Council of Europe and the European Union, since 2010.

"They [FETÖ] have had a big impact on the growing negative opinion about Turkey in the EU, Council of Europe, NATO and other areas," said Minister Bozdağ, adding that the terrorist group uses the positive image it has in the eyes of these institutions to meet its ends.

The minister also pointed to the PKK and some other circles, for making similar attempts of tarnishing Turkey's image in Europe.

Talking about the FETÖ presence in the Turkish judiciary, the justice minister said that it was not a safe ground for FETÖ-affiliated people anymore.

"Today, the judiciary belongs not to FETÖ, but to Turkish people," he said.

The minister revealed that some 3,600 people affiliated with the terrorist group have been discharged off their duties in the judiciary. He, however, acknowledged that some of these discharged employees have returned to their duty despite their objection.

"It is not an interference with the judiciary, rather, it is about eradicating [a group] willing to take the judiciary hostage," he said.

Commenting on the extradition of the FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen from the U.S., Bozdağ said Ankara's hopes, in this regard, have increased recently.

Confirming that Ankara has already sent four dossiers to authorities in the U.S., for the extradition of the group's leader, Bozdağ said, the new U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks regarding the issue have bolstered Ankara's hopes.

Turkish authorities, on Sept. 13, filed an official extradition request for Gülen with the U.S., under the scope of a 1979-treaty between the two countries.

"We expect some positive developments in the next term," Bozdağ said.

Ankara has asked Washington to extradite Gülen for his role in infiltrating state institutions in Turkey and carrying out a bloody coup attempt on July 15 last year.

The FETÖ leader has lived in a self-imposed exile on a 400-acre property, in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, since 1999.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, in a similar statement yesterday, resonated with Bozdağ and said, "Our success in the cleansing of the FETÖ is in a much better position in the judiciary," adding that it was not by chance. The prime minister, who spoke to judicial authorities on Thursday, called on the judiciary to further detect and discharge the other FETÖ-affiliated people, from wherever they might be.