The extradition request documents sent to U.S. authorities by the Justice Ministry to demand the extradition of Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) leader Fetullah Gülen were exposed yesterday by İhlas News Agency (İHA).

The debates over the extradition documents emerged after Republican People's Party (CHP) presidential candidate Muharrem İnce, who claimed that the application was not submitted in accordance with required legal procedures, demanded to see if they were in line with required laws.The İHA report featured a document, in Turkish, showing the extradition demand made to the U.S. Department of Justice dated July 19, 2016 and also a document from Turkey's Washington embassy dated July 27, 2017 submitted to the Foreign Ministry, saying that the documents were delivered to U.S. authorities and accepted by U.S. officials at the State Department on July 23, 2017.

The Justice Ministry document also says that the English translations will also be delivered for the file, which debunks İnce's claim that the documents were not translated to English.Gülen has been living in the U.S. in a self-imposed exile since 1999. His extradition was requested by Turkey for being the leader of FETÖ and for masterminding the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. The United States, where the terrorist group runs a network of charter schools, is a favorite safe haven for fugitive FETÖ members. Turkey says the U.S. has turned the extradition matter into a political issue rather than handling the case as a legal matter.