Turkey called Friday on the United States to respect its judicial independence after Washington criticised the conviction of a Turkish US consulate employee on terror-related charges.
An Istanbul court on Thursday sentenced Metin Topuz, a liaison officer for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at the consulate, to eight years and nine months in prison for aiding the "Fetullah Terrorist Organization [FETO]" which carried out the deadly July 15 coup bid 2016.
The ruling triggered a backlash from the United States, Turkey's NATO ally, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Washington was "deeply troubled" by the decision and hoped it would "swiftly be overturned."
But the Turkish foreign ministry hit back at the comments.
"The rule of law prevails in Turkey and the Turkish judiciary is independent," the ministry said in a statement.
"We are inviting US authorities to respect the principle of judicial independence and stay away from any actions that may influence the judiciary."
Topuz's lawyers have the right to appeal the verdict within a week, the ministry noted.
Topuz, who was arrested in 2017, was accused of contacts with senior police and prosecutors having ties to US-based FETO ringleader Fethullah Gulen, who is the mastermind of July 15 coup attempt that left hundreds of Turkish citizens martyred, thousands of others injured.
As being frustrated with Washington's refusal to extradite FETO ringleader Gulen, Turkey accused the United States of becoming a "safe harbor" for members of the FETO terror group.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy pointed out that other people with links to FETO ringleader Gulen had infiltrated U.S. missions in Turkey and accusing U.S. authorities of ignoring requests for the extradition of senior FETO members.
"We are concerned that the United States has become a safe harbor for members of (Gulen's) terrorist organization," Aksoy said in a written statement.
