Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today said he will seek to extradite an exiled cleric he accuses of orchestrating a "parallel state" and attempts to bring down the government from his base in the United States.
Erdogan told NTV that a legal procedure "will begin" for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, a former ally who he says has masterminded a massive corruption scandal through his powerful network of supporters in the police and judiciary.
The prime minister's comments came a day after he told US broadcaster PBS that he wants President Barack Obama to deport Gulen and send him back to Turkey.
Erdogan said he hoped Washington would deliver on the issue as a "model partner".
"At least they should deport him," he said.
Gulen was once a close ally of the prime minister, helping him to challenge the traditional stranglehold of the military and to install Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) in power in 2002.
Gulen was forced to flee the country in 1999 after he was accused of plotting against the secular government of the time.
But their alliance has faltered in recent years, and was decisively shattered in December when police raids saw dozens of the Erdogan's key business and political allies detained on bribery allegations.
The premier has repeatedly accused Gulenists of engineering the investigation as well as a string of damaging leaks in the media. He retaliated by sacking thousands of police and prosecutors.
Gulen has denied any involvement in the corruption probe.
After his party scored a crushing victory in last month's local polls, an emboldened Erdogan hinted he would take steps against Gulen's movement.
"We will enter their caves and ... They will pay the price," he warned in a victory speech from the balcony of his party's Ankara headquarters last month.
"There won't be a state within a state," he said.
The AKP has already pushed through a law to close private preparatory schools, a key part of Gulen's network.
