Turkey’s Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül said on Thursday that Germany has not responded to a diplomatic note from Turkey asking about reports that Adil Öksüz, a key suspect in a failed coup last year, is in Germany.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) central decision-making body meeting in Ankara on Thursday, Gül said, “We have not yet received a response from Germany on this issue.”
“We expect Germany to take the necessary steps in line with both international law and international agreements,” Gül said.
Following Ankara’s diplomatic note last week, Deutsche Welle reported German diplomatic sources said they have no information that confirms Öksüz is currently in Germany.
Due to commitments to international agreements, Germany is not making official statements or providing information about people who have applied for asylum in Germany, the report said.
On Aug. 17, pro-government Yeni Şafak daily claimed that Öksüz has received temporary residence in Germany.
The diplomatic note sent to Germany said Öksüz was seen in various German cities as reported in the Turkish media and asked Germany whether they had any information about it.
German diplomatic sources said the reports about Öksüz were contradictory since they claimed the same person was in different cities. The sources said similar claims were made previously about fugitive prosecutors Zekeriya Öz and Celal Kara.
The report came three days after main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said Öksüz was working for the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), asking the government to clarify questions concerning the coup attempt.
The Turkish government claims that before the July 2016 coup attempt, Öksüz traveled to the US, where he visited Fethullah Gülen, who has inspired the Gülen movement.
Photographs of Öksüz and his child with Gülen at the Golden Generation Retreat and Recreation Center Pennsylvania where the Turkish scholar has been living since 1999 have appeared in the Turkish press as proof of Gülen’s personal involvement in the coup bid.
“When you consider Adil Öksüz, they found him somewhere, I don’t remember where it was, and then they released him, and then there turned out be a tie between him and Turkish intelligence,” Gülen said in an interview with France24 last month.
The Turkish government accuses the faith-based Gülen movement of mounting the botched coup attempt while Gülen denies any involvement.