Opposition MHP leader: Zarrab should be tried in Turkey

Turkey’s opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader on Tuesday said that Turkish businessman Riza Zarrab should be tried in Turkey, not in the U.S.

Speaking to his party's lawmakers, Devlet Bahçeli accused the U.S. of trying to disrupt Turkey’s economy through the Zarrab case.

"We are not saying that there was no crime. We are not saying that this fool should not be tried," said Bahçeli.

"The legal authority, legal territory, de jure boundary are where the crime was committed, and that’s the Turkish Republic."

Bahçeli stressed that Turkey would "never lose its value over charges against fools."

Zarrab last month accepted all the charges against him and agreed to cooperate as a witness against Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the former deputy CEO of Turkey’s Halkbank.

Zarrab was detained last year on charges of violating sanctions against Iran, while Atilla was arrested in the U.S. earlier this year on similar charges.

Bahçeli compared the Zarrab case with the international conspiracy in favor of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) members.

"Turkey's enemies will be disappointed," he said.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the July 15, 2016, defeated coup attempt in Turkey, which martyred 250 people and left nearly 2,200 injured.