13 June 2018•Update: 14 June 2018
BERLIN
German authorities said on Wednesday they had no new information about the whereabouts of Turkey’s most wanted coup suspect, after Anadolu Agency reported that he was seen in Berlin.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the issue of key coup suspect Adil Oksuz has been a constant theme on the agenda of bilateral talks.
“But I cannot safely tell you at the moment, if there’s a concrete new development on this,” Maria Adebahr said.
Meanwhile, Interior Ministry’s spokesperson Eleonore Petermann said she had no new information on the matter.
Oksuz, a senior figure of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), is accused of masterminding the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey.
The 51-year old theology lecturer has been on the run for almost two years.
Turkish officials have repeatedly appealed to the German government to arrest and extradite Oksuz, after receiving dozens of tips, indicating that the key coup suspect was hiding in Germany.
Since November last year, German police is actively looking for the chief coup suspect, but so far failed to find him, according to diplomatic sources.
Several witnesses recently told Anadolu Agency that Turkey’s most wanted man stayed at a small apartment in Berlin early this year under the protection of FETO members.
Ali A., a Berlin-based Turkish businessman with suspected ties to FETO, provided financial support for the group to rent the flat in Berlin’s Neukoelln district, witnesses have said.
In Germany, which is home to more than three million Turkish immigrants, FETO has a large network with dozens of private schools, businesses and media organizations.
Since the 2016 defeated coup attempt, nearly 4,000 FETO suspects have come to Germany from Turkey and other countries, according to local media reports.
Several FETO suspects, including former soldiers and diplomats, have applied for asylum in various German federal states.
