Justice Minister Bozdağ to visit US for Gülen's arrest

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ will meet U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Oct. 26 and 27 to discuss Turkey's official request for the provisional arrest of terrorist leader Fethullah Gülen. "I am heading to the U.S. on Oct. 25. We have a meeting with the Attorney General on Oct. 26 and 27," Bozdağ told reporters yesterday at Parliament. "The main agenda of the visit is the legal documents submitted to the U.S. regarding the founder and leader of the Gülenist Terror Group [FETÖ] and our request for his provisional arrest over the July 15 coup bid," Bozdağ said.

Ankara maintains that the coup attempt was organized by followers of Gülen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETÖ terror group. Gülen is also accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is known as the "parallel state."

Turkey's first official request for Gülen's provisional arrest was issued to the U.S. on Sept. 13.