The Turkish government has blamed a Turkish Muslim cleric and his followers for the failed military coup that has led the country into a three-month state of emergency.

CCTV America’s Natalie Carney reports on the man allegedly behind Turkey’s latest coup attempt.
Follow Natalie Carney on Twitter @NatalieCarney77

Turkish officials and local media have released a number of accounts tying those arrested for the attempted coup to Fethullah Gulen, who has been accused of running a “parallel state”.

“The kind of network the Gulen network formed over the last three or four decades, in the state establishments, in the intelligence agencies, in the state bureaucracy, in the universities, in both public and private media this is a very mysterious organization,” said Dr. Sedik Unay from Foundation for Political and Economic Social Research.

The Sunni Muslim preacher acquired many followers through intense sermons, embracing science and other religious faiths.

His “Hizmat” movement has set up hundreds of schools and businesses in Turkey and abroad.

However, the government has closed down most of Gulen’s preparatory schools, business, and media across the country.

In the aftermath of the attempted coup, there were over 60,000 people, suspended, detained or arrested, thought to be associated with the cleric.

The problem is that it’s not exactly clear who is a follower of Gulen and who is not, and the government argues that’s why they cast such a wide net.

However, some high-ranking officials in the country’s security, judiciary and other democratic institutes are believed to be Gulenists.

Turkey has formally requested his extradition from the US and said it had provided the “clear evidence” Washington is asking for.

However, under the U.S.-Turkey extradition agreement, Washington can only extradite a person if they have committed an “Extraditable Act”. But treason is not one of them.

Turkey will dispatch its justice and interior ministers to the US next week to further negotiate for Gulen’s extradition.