US: No update on extradition request for Gülen

WASHINGTON - Anadolu Agency

The U.S. State Department said on July 29 there is no update on the review process of Turkey's extradition request for Fethullah Gülen, believed to be behind the July 15 failed coup attempt, adding it could be a fairly long process.
        
"We are in receipt of some material, the Justice Department is still analyzing that material," State Department spokesman John Kirby said during a press briefing. "We're going to respect that process."        

While the extradition process continues, the Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu have expressed concerns that credible intelligence sources warn authorities of a possible escape of Gülen from the U.S.        

When asked whether the U.S. shared in that regard similar concerns with Turkey, Kirby said he has no information one way or the other about it.        

"And that's really not a matter for the State Department to speak to," he added.        

According to the State Department, a joint team of State Department and the Justice Department are reviewing the extradition request for Gülen that Turkey sent last week -- based on an extradition treaty signed between two countries in 1979.        

The treaty's 10th article says that in cases of urgency, if Turkey or the U.S. suspects anyone, the host country needs to arrest the suspect for 60 days until documents for extradition are submitted to the executive authority of the requested party.        

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice confirmed to Anadolu Agency that the documents regarding Gülen were received and that they were analyzing them.        

The discussion comes almost 14 days after the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15.        
Turkey's government has repeatedly said the deadly coup attempt, was organized by Gülen's followers.