ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey’s interior ministry said on Monday it would strip citizenship from 130 people suspected of militant links, including the U.S.-based cleric it says orchestrated last July’s failed coup, unless they return to Turkey within three months.

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller/File Photo

In a list of what it called fugitives from justice, the ministry named Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers Faysal Sariyildiz and Tugba Hezer, and former HDP lawmaker Ozdal Ucer.

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied involvement in the coup and condemned it.

The notice said the suspects identified in the list would be stripped of Turkish citizenship unless they returned to Turkey within the time limit and applied to the “relevant authorities”.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus said later on Monday that the cabinet would make the final decision on which of the “fugitives”‘ would have their citizenship removed.

Asked whether stripping the suspects of citizenship would rule out extradition, as they would not be citizens of the country requesting their return, Kurtulmus said the cabinet would consider this in its decision.

Since the July coup attempt, authorities have arrested 50,000 people and sacked or suspended 150,000, including soldiers, police, teachers and public servants, over alleged links with terrorist groups.

While Turkish officials say the steps are necessary due to the gravity of the coup attempt which killed more than 240 people, critics in Turkey and abroad say President Tayyip Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to muzzle dissent and purge opponents.

More than a dozen HDP lawmakers have also been jailed, mostly due to suspected links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey.

The party’s co-leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, have also been jailed, handicapping its campaign against the April referendum where Turks narrowly voted for constitutional changes to grant Erdogan sweeping new powers.

The HDP denies direct ties to the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey and the European Union.</s>Turkey said on Monday it would strip citizenship from 130 people suspected of militant links, including the U.S.-based cleric it blames for orchestrating last July's failed coup, unless they return to the country within three months.

ANKARA: Turkey said on Monday it would strip citizenship from 130 people suspected of militant links, including the U.S.-based cleric it blames for orchestrating last July's failed coup, unless they return to the country within three months.

In a list of what it called fugitives from justice, the interior ministry named Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers Faysal Sariyildiz and Tugba Hezer, and former HDP lawmaker Ozdal Ucer.

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied involvement in the coup and condemned it.

The notice said the suspects identified in the list would be stripped of Turkish citizenship unless they returned to Turkey within the time limit and applied to the "relevant authorities".

Since the July coup attempt, authorities have arrested 50,000 people and sacked or suspended 150,000, including soldiers, police, teachers and public servants, over alleged links with terrorist groups.

While Turkish officials say the steps are necessary due to the gravity of the coup attempt which killed 240 people, critics in Turkey and abroad say President Tayyip Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to muzzle dissent and purge opponents.

More than a dozen HDP lawmakers have also been jailed, mostly due to suspected links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey.

The party's co-leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, have also been jailed, handicapping its campaign against the April referendum where Turks narrowly voted for constitutional changes to grant Erdogan sweeping new powers.

The HDP denies direct ties to the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, Turkey and the European Union.</s>ANKARA:- Turkey will strip citizenship of one hundred and thirty people suspected of militant links. A notice published by Turkish Interior Ministry also includes names of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party lawmakers Faysal Sariyildiz and Tugba Hezer, and a former lawmaker Ozdal Ucer. The notice says the suspects would be stripped of Turkish nationality unless they return to Turkey within the time limit and apply to the relevant authorities.–NNI</s>Ankara today said US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed for last year's failed coup, and dozens of others would lose Turkish citizenship if they did not return home within three months. A total of 130 people will be affected by the move, an interior ministry announcement published in the Official Gazette said, adding that the three-month deadline started on Monday.

Start the conversation, or Read more at India.com.</s>ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey's interior ministry said on Monday it would strip citizenship from 130 people suspected of militant links, including the U.S.-based cleric it says orchestrated last July's failed coup, unless they return to Turkey within three months.</s>Turkish authorities say U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed for last year's coup, will lose his Turkish citizenship if he fails to return to Turkey within three months.

In a decision printed in the Official Gazette on Monday, the Interior Ministry named Gulen among 130 people wanted by authorities and who risk being stripped of their citizenship unless they return.

The group also includes two legislators from Turkey's pro-Kurdish party, Faysal Sariyildiz and Tugba Hezer, who face terrorism-related charges in Turkey and are believed to be in Europe.

They face a possible loss of benefits if they are stripped of citizenship. Gulen, a U.S. resident, likely would feel little impact from losing citizenship.

Gulen has denied Turkish accusations of orchestrating the failed military coup and wants him extradited.</s>Ankara on Monday said US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed for last year’s failed coup, and dozens of others would lose Turkish citizenship if they did not return home within three months. A total of 130 people will be affected by the move, an interior ministry announcement published in the Official Gazette said, adding that the three-month deadline started on Monday.

The government says the abortive July coup aimed at toppling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was engineered by an Islamic movement led by Gulen, who has denied the charges. The list also includes two lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) Faysal Sariyildiz and Tugba Hezer. The interior ministry said the list comprised people who are being investigated by the prosecutors and whose whereabouts are not known.

Over 100,000 people have been sacked or suspended from the public sector under a state of emergency imposed a few days after foiled putsch and renewed three times. Human rights group criticise the vast crackdown, saying they have extended well beyond the coup suspects and targeted opponents of Erdogan.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>They will be denaturalized unless they return & apply to the relevant institutions in the country

A denaturalization process for U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, two lawmakers of the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and 127 others has officially come into effect, according to a notice by the Interior Ministry published in the Official Gazette on June 5.

The ministry’s notice stated that a total of 130 people abroad, who had been probed over terror charges and crimes against the constitutional order, will be denaturalized unless they return and apply to the relevant institutions in the country within a three-month period starting from June 5.

Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, is accused of masterminding the failed July 2016 coup attempt and is in 91st place in the list.

Ankara has accused the Fetullahist Terror Organization (FETO) of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

 According to state-run Anadolu Agency, the list also included Osman Hilmi Özdil, the alleged “police imam” of the Gülen network codenamed Kozanlı Ömer, and he is reported to be in Thailand. An extradition request had previously been filed on him.

Separately, HDP Şırnak deputy Faysal Sarıyıldız and Van deputy Fatma Hezer Öztürk were also named on the list alongside the party’s former Van deputy Özdal Üçer.

The lawmakers are accused of “providing arms to a terror organization” and “engaging in terror organization propaganda,” with an arrest warrant already issued for them. Parliament is also reviewing dossiers to strip their parliamentary status due to absence.

Some 10 lawmakers from the HDP, including its co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, were arrested on Nov. 4, 2016 and are currently in jail, facing hundreds of years inside for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

According to Article 29/2 of the Turkish Citizenship Law, citizens who are abroad and probed over aforementioned charges are reported to the Interior Ministry by the prosecutor or the court to strip them of citizenship within a month. The ministry then publishes the notice and they are ultimately denaturalized unless they return within three months upon the request of the ministry and the cabinet decision.

The 11th criminal court in the southern province of Adana made an official application to the Justice Ministry to withdraw Gülen’s citizenship on May 26.
The Turkish interior ministry announces that 130 people, living outside the country and suspected of militant links, will lose their citizenship unless they return to Turkey within three months and meet government standards. Named suspects include U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen, and Peoples' Democratic Party leaders Faysal Sariyildiz, Tuğba Hezer, and Özdal Üçer.