Turkish Interior Ministry spokesperson İsmail Çataklı said on Monday Interpol has declined 646 Red Notice requests made by Turkey since a failed 2016 coup, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Four hundred sixty-two of them have been requested by the Turkish judiciary for people suspected of membership in the faith-based Gülen movement, which is accused of orchestrating the coup attempt despite its strong denial of any involvement.
The spokesperson said 115 of them were issued for alleged members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a terrorist organization that has waged decades-long bloody insurgency in Turkey’s Southeast.
He also mentioned that 66 Red Notice requests for terrorists from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been approved by Interpol officials.
“Interpol cherry-picks requests,” Çataklı told reporters during a press conference. “We take notes. We will not forget who is on our side in the fight against terrorism.”
Turkey has jailed tens of thousands people on terrorism charges in the aftermath of the coup attempt as well as labeling the slightest criticism of the government as terrorist propaganda.
Çataklı slammed a recently published report by Amnesty International that says that Turkey has detained hundreds of people for criticizing Ankara’s military operation in northeastern Syria.
“Such comments cannot be considered freedom of expression,” he added.
Meanwhile, the İstanbul 37th High Criminal Court on Monday handed down 14 life sentences to ex-soldiers standing trial for attempting to overthrow the government during the failed coup.
The court acquitted seven of the defendants.
The Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday ordered the detention of 17 suspects on allegations of Gülen links in a post-coup crackdown targeting the movement’s followers.