The Turkish foreign ministry criticized the United States State Department's comments on the trial of Serkan Gölge, a dual U.S.-Turkish national who worked at the NASA and called on U.S. authorities to respect the Turkish court's decision.
In a statement released on Friday, the ministry said Gölge was tried by independent Turkish courts and the judiciary ruled for a sentence.
The prejudiced comments of the spokesperson of the Secretary of State on the trial of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) suspect cannot be taken seriously, the ministry added.
"The Turkish judiciary rules in accordance with the constitution, laws and evidence, not to please anyone and not given orders to rule in a specific way."
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Thursday that the U.S. government was deeply concerned about the "conviction without credible evidence" of the senior NASA researcher.
36-year-old Gölge was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for FETÖ membership in southern Hatay province while he was visiting his parents.
Hatay Governor Ercan Topaca said that Gölge studied at a FETÖ-linked school in Turkey and then moved to the United States for higher education and worked at NASA.
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