US apologises for ‘liking’ Gulen supporter’s Twitter post

Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish cleric in self-imposed exile in the US, who has been accused of masterminding the Turkish coup attempt of July 2016

The US Embassy in Ankara posted an apology message on Twitter on Saturday after it “liked” a tweet by a Gulen Movement supporter, international and Turkish mass media reported.

“Earlier today our Embassy Twitter account ‘liked’ an unrelated post in error. We regret the mistake and apologize for any confusion,” the US embassy wrote.

On Saturday, the US account “liked” a tweet that said Turkey should be ready for politics without Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and an ally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) who has had health problems in recent weeks.

The original tweet was posted by Ergun Babahan, a journalist who fled Turkey following the failed coup attempt on 15 July 2016.

The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesman Omer Celik criticised the embassy saying: “We strongly condemn the US Embassy’s ‘like’ of MHP leader Devlet Bahceli’s health, which is unacceptable on a human level and against diplomatic practices.”

He called it “an attempt to intervene in Turkish domestics affairs,” calling on the US Department of State and the US Embassy in Turkey to probe the incident.

READ: Turkey slams US Embassy on ‘liking’ a tweet

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