|
ISTANBUL, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday demanded two life sentences plus 1,900 years in prison for U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara has blamed for masterminding a failed coup bid last month, local media said.
Prosecutors in the western city of Usak prepared a 2,527-page indictment against Gulen and 111 other suspects after a yearlong investigation, and the indictment has been approved by a court in the city, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
In the indictment, Gulen and other suspects are accused of "forming and running an armed terror organization," "financing terrorism," "attempting to destroy the constitutional order by force" and "attempting to topple the government," Anadolu said.
According to the indictment, Gulen and the so-called Fethullah Terrorist Organization under his leadership transferred funds obtained through charities or donations to the United States via front companies by using banks in the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and Germany, the news agency noted.
The indictment also stated that Gulen is aiming to seize all of the state institutions rather than destroy the existing system.
Turkey has been pressing hard for Gulen's extradition for trying to bring down the government and orchestrating the coup bid on July 15, in which 237 people were killed and more than 2,190 others injured.
A Turkish court issued an arrest warrant against Gulen early this month, though Washington has been asking for solid evidence over Gulen's case.
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry are both expected to visit Turkey later this month.
