"He was in Germany for a while," Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said yesterday in response to questions about reports that Adil Öksüz, the alleged mastermind of the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey was staying in Berlin. The minister said they did not know if he left Germany but added that reports in German media about Öksüz living in the country were "true."

Öksüz disappeared after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt that killed 250 people. He is accused of acting as a point man for the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) in the attempt. Criminal investigations and testimony of witnesses show that he orchestrated the attempt with FETÖ's infiltrators in the military in his capacity as "imam" or a FETÖ member controlling infiltrators. He was captured at Akıncı, an air base in the capital Ankara that served as command center of putschists during the coup attempt though he was later released in a controversial ruling by a local court.

Speaking in a televised interview, Soylu said they had "some information" regarding Öksüz's whereabouts but declined to elaborate. Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, meanwhile, yesterday told 24 TV that Germany should investigate the matter and expected Berlin to extradite Öksüz to Turkey if he is there. Bozdağ said Germany had harbored members of FETÖ and had not extradited any members of the group to Turkey so far.