BERLIN (AA) - Germany’s Justice Ministry has not approved the arrest of Turkey's key coup suspect Adil Oksuz and he has been put under police protection, local media reported Friday.
Oksuz, a theology lecturer accused of masterminding Turkey's July 15, 2016 defeated coup, was on the run for almost two years.
Anadolu Agency revealed last week that the 51-year-old suspect stayed for some time at a small apartment in Berlin’s Neukoelln district under the protection of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members.
The Frankfurter Rundschau daily reported Friday that its sources also confirmed that Oksuz lived at this apartment and further claimed that he was recently put under protection by Berlin police.
A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity to the local Berliner Zeitung said Oksuz was living at this apartment and was transferred to a secure place after his whereabouts were revealed.
Upon receiving a letter last week, Anadolu Agency correspondents managed to locate the flat in central Berlin, which was allegedly used by Oksuz and other FETO figures who fled from Turkey since the defeated coup.
Witnessed confirmed that Oksuz was among those who lived for some time at the apartment.
Ali A., a Berlin-based Turkish businessman with suspected ties to FETO, provided financial support for the group to rent the flat, witnesses have also said.
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.
The Tagesspiegel daily reported Friday that Germany’s Justice Ministry has not approved the arrest of Oksuz and also opposed extraditing him to Turkey.
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.
In Germany, which is home to more than 3 million Turkish immigrants, FETO has a large network with dozens of private schools, businesses and media organizations.