A Washington law firm employed by the Turkish Embassy compiled an extensive report for prosecutors in Ankara on individuals connected to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey blames as the leader of a 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, US media reported on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2019) A Washington law firm employed by the Turkish Embassy compiled an extensive report for prosecutors in Ankara on individuals connected to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey blames as the leader of a 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, US media reported on Wednesday.The detailed information, which was gathered at the request of the Turkish Embassy in Washington, was transmitted to prosecutors in Turkey, the Wall Street Journal reported, based on two Turkish government memorandums marked "secret."
The report for Turkish prosecutors was compiled by the Washington law firm Saltzman & Evinch PLLC, which has long represented Ankara's interests in the US.
Activists told the Journal they fear the data is being used in investigations of Mr. Erdogan's perceived adversaries in Turkey.
On Wednesday President Donald Trump is due to meet Erdogan, who has pressed the US to extradite Gulen, who lives in exile in the state of Pennsylvania.
Material in the report was compiled using open sources and the Journal emphasized that none of the information suggests that covert surveillance or electronic eavesdropping of groups was used.
