Turkey pressed Belgium to extradite people accused of links to the faith-based Gülen movement and close institutions it associates with the movement during talks in Brussels on Tuesday, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek and Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi met with Belgian ministers in the first round of talks in this format since 2016.
Gürlek urged Belgium to scrutinize schools and associations he accused of links to the Gülen movement and argued that asylum protections should not obstruct extradition proceedings.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has targeted the faith-based Gülen movement, inspired by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who died in 2024, since corruption investigations in December 2013 implicated Erdoğan as well as some members of his family and inner circle. He dismissed the probes as a Gülenist conspiracy and designated the movement as a terrorist organization in May 2016, intensifying a sweeping crackdown after a coup attempt in July of the same year that he accused Gülen of orchestrating. The movement denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Turkey and Belgium also signed a police cooperation plan for 2027 and 2028, Çiftçi announced after the meeting. The plan provides for faster information sharing, exchanges of expertise and joint training, particularly against organized crime.
Cooperation on criminal investigations must respect the rule of law and legal safeguards, Belgium’s foreign ministry stressed ahead of the talks. It also acknowledged differences with Turkey over human rights and freedoms, while describing the NATO ally as a partner in European security.
(Turkish Minute with reporting by Stockholm Center for Freedom)
