Turkish FM spokesman slams US remarks on FETO convict

ANKARA

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy on Friday responded to the U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert's statement about a Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) convict.

Nauert on Thursday said Serkan Golge, a Turkish-U.S. citizen, was convicted to seven years and nine months in jail for being member of a terrorist organization “without credible evidence” and said the U.S. was “deeply concerned” by the conviction.

“Serkan Golge, a Turkish citizen, was tried by an independent Turkish court and sentenced after a fair trial,” Aksoy said in a written statement.

“It is not possible to take the biased words of the U.S. State Department spokeswoman, who does not know the content and evidence of the case file, seriously.

“The Turkish judiciary does not decide according to the desire of someone or of external instructions, but decides according to Turkey’s Constitution, laws, and evidence. We expect our U.S. interlocutors to respect the decisions of independent Turkish courts,” Aksoy added.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, according to the Turkish government.