The White House may hand over a Turkish dissident to 'placate' Turkey's Erdogan and 'ease pressure' on Saudi Arabia
The United States is considering extraditing one of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's political enemies in an attempt to get Turkey to "ease pressure" on Saudi Arabia, NBC News reported Thursday.
The Trump administration has been examining ways to extradite Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has been living in Pennsylvania with a green card for almost two decades, the report says. This effort is reportedly directly tied to the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who Turkey says was murdered by Saudi government operatives in Istanbul. NBC News reports that Gulen's extradition would be a way to "placate Turkey over the murder."
A U.S. official reportedly says there has been pushback against the possibility. "The career guys were furious" at the suggestion, said the official.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Turkey formally requested Gulen's extradition in 2016, after blaming him for an attempted coup, NBC News reported at the time. If extradition isn't an option, the Trump administration has also weighed the possibility of making Gulen relocate to South Africa. Turkey disputes the report and says there is "no connection" between Khashoggi's murder and the Gulen case. Alternatively, the release of Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who was sentenced to prison for evading sanctions, has also been considered, NBC News reports.
This news comes after Saudi Arabia once again changed its story about Khashoggi's murder, concluding the journalist was killed in an on-the-spot decision after previously calling his murder premeditated. News about Gulen's possible extradition drew immediate criticism, with NBC News' Benjy Sarlin summing it up: "So if I have this right," he wrote, "Trump looking into handing a prominent dissident over to an authoritarian regime to get them to ease up on a second authoritarian regime for murdering a second prominent dissident?"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Diamonds could be a brilliant climate solution
Under the radar A girl and the climate's best friend
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: November 12, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: November 12, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Haiti council fires prime minister, boosting chaos
Speed Read Prime Minister Garry Conille was replaced with Alix Didier Fils-Aimé
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump tells next Senate GOP leader to skip confirmations
Speed Read The president-elect said the next Senate majority leader must allow him to make recess appointments
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Fed cuts rates, chair says he won't quit if Trump asks
Speed Read Jerome Powell was noncommittal on future rate cuts that were expected before Trump won the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge revives plea deal for 9/11 suspects
Speed Read A military judge has ruled to restore the plea deals struck by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-conspirators
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Harris concedes as world prepares for Trump's return
Speed Read Vice President Kamala Harris told supporters it was important to 'accept the results of this election'
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Abortion rights measures go 7 for 10
Speed Read Constitutional amendments to protect abortion passed in seven states but failed in three others: Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Netanyahu fires defense minister, sparking protests
Speed Read Yoav Gallant and Netanyahu have clashed for years. The Israeli prime minister first tried to fire the defense minister in 2023, but backed off following a public outcry.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump wins, GOP flips Senate, House a tossup
Speed Read The Republican candidate flipped back the swing states he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published