Turkey has dismissed a legal attaché at its embassy in London who allegedly sent an unauthorized document to a British court hearing a case on the requested extradition of businessman Akın İpek, who is affiliated with Fethullah Gülen, a US-based Islamic cleric that Ankara accuses of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.
The Turkish government requested the extradition of İpek, accusing him of using the ByLock smartphone application and providing financial aid to the Gülen movement, which denies any involvement in the failed coup.
The Justice Ministry claimed that the attaché, Abdullah Murat has submitted the note without approval from Ankara and launched an investigation into him. It further argued that the note prepared by the legal advisor was not in line with decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeals in Turkey.
Since the coup attempt in Turkey in 2016, a massive purge of Gülen movement followers has been ongoing on allegations of coup involvement.
Last week the London court denied Turkey’s extradition request for İpek, who has openly supported the movement, citing the risk of ill-treatment in Turkey’s prisons.