You should give those documents to the court rather than the US

Adem Yavuz Arslan

In a previous column of mine, I wrote about how Turkey's Dec. 17 corruption scandal had been discussed in the US media in a piece titled "What if Dec. 17 happened in the US."

Those were the days when a court case began against former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. The former governor and his wife were accused of having an "unethical relation" with a businessman. The businessman allegedly sent a Rolex wristwatch to the governor and expensive gifts to his wife. In addition he [the businessman] is accused of lending the couple $165,000.

The court case in question was decided last Friday. McDonnell -- who was considered to be a future presidential candidate -- and his wife were found guilty. If this were a case in Turkey, the issue wouldn't even have made a news story, let alone be taken to court. Things are different in the US. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent "extradition demand" for [Turkish-Islamic scholar] Fethullah Gülen from the US is not new. But the US wants to see evidence supporting the allegations against Gülen. Erdoğan said Turkey will send relevant documents to the US. However, there is not a single court case against Gülen at the moment. So, he'd better send the "documents" to a court first.

Published on Today's Zaman, 08 September 2014, Tuesday