Germany needs more evidence to declare Gulen movement illegal: Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan address a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, September 28, 2018. [Photo/Reuters]

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany needed more evidence if it was to class the movement of U.S.-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, blamed by Turkey for the 2016 failed coup, as a “terrorist” organization as Ankara is demanding.

Speaking at a Berlin news conference with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Merkel also said Germany was seeking several individuals whose extradition on “terrorism” charges Turkey was demanding, but it was not certain that they were in Germany.