Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated that
the death penalty is not off the table for those suspected of plotting a coup
against his government.
The president made this known while speaking in an interview
with CNN broadcast Monday.
Erdogan, giving his first media interview since Friday’s
dramatic coup attempt, also said his government would submit a written request
for the extradition of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah
Gulen, whom he blames
for the unrest, in the coming days.
“There is a clear crime of treason,” Erdogan, speaking through
a translator, told CNN when asked about calls for the alleged plotters to face
capital punishment.
“But of course, it will take a parliamentary decision for
that to take action in the form of a constitutional measure,” he said, given
that Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 as part of its long-standing
efforts to join the European Union.
“So the leaders will have to come together and discuss it.
If they accept to discuss it, as the president, I will approve any decision to
come out of the parliament,” he added.
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