Opposition MHP leader: Sarraf should be tried in Turkey

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA

Turkey’s opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader on Tuesday said that Turkish businessman Riza Sarraf should be tried in Turkey, not in the U.S.

Speaking to his party's lawmakers, Devlet Bahceli accused the U.S. of trying to disrupt Turkey’s economy through the Sarraf case.

"We are not saying that there was no crime. We are not saying that this fool should not be tried," said Bahceli.

"The legal authority, legal territory, de jure boundary are where the crime was committed, and that’s the Turkish Republic."

Bahceli stressed that Turkey would "never lose its value over charges against fools."

Sarraf last month accepted all the charges against him and agreed to cooperate as a witness against Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the former deputy CEO of Turkey’s Halkbank.

Sarraf was detained last year on charges of violating sanctions against Iran, while Atilla was arrested in the U.S. earlier this year on similar charges.

Bahceli compared the Sarraf case with the international conspiracy in favor of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members.

"Turkey's enemies will be disappointed," he said.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the July 15, 2016, defeated coup attempt in Turkey, which martyred 250 people and left nearly 2,200 injured.