aides have said Ankara would view as hostile any foreign government that gave sanctuary to leaders of the
Gulen movement.
Turkey hasn't yet made a formal extradition request to the U.S., and Turkish officials say they plan to provide
more evidence to the Justice Department.
Mr. Gulen, 75 years old, came to the U.S. in 1999, and has a devoted following in Turkey and other countries.
At a press conference in Washington on Friday, Mr. Gulen’s lawyers said they have spoken to the Justice
Department about the demands for extradition but are unaware of the U.S. government’s thinking or plans.
Asked if they feared for his life, one of Mr. Gulen’s lawyers, Reid Weingarten said, “We do. We’re very concemed about his safety.’’ The lawyer said they are discussing whether to ask U.S. authorities for help in
safeguarding their client.
A Turkish court has issued a warrant for Mr. Gulen’s arrest, and Turkish and U.S. authorities have privately discussed scenarios in which Mr. Gulen might be extradited. But several U.S. officials said they cannot now
envision a scenario in which they turn him over to Turkey.
“Tt would be unprecedented and appalling if the U.S. took a frail, almost octogenarian, plopped him on a plane to go back into that kind of setting with the hideous things that are being said about him by the entire Turkish
government,’’ said Mr. Weingarten.
“The bluster, the conspiracy theories, and the threats of Mr. Erdogan are not strong enough to overwhelm the American legal system,” he added. “And for that reason we believe that Mr. Gulen should not and will not be
extradited.’’
Mr. Weingarten said the chances that his client helped plot a coup from his base in the Poconos is “about as
likely” as a meteor striking the lawyer’s office while he was speaking.
Write to Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com
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