Turkey says backlash against government after failed coup is like criticising US over response to 9/11

'We expelled this coup in the name of democracy. We got on to the streets and shed our blood'

Pro-Erdogan supporters wave Turkish flags during a demonstration in support to Turkish president (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

Attacking the Turkish president for the reaction to the failed military coup is comparable to criticising the US government after 9/11, according to the leader’s spokesman.

Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said international criticism of Turkey’s response to the coup is similar to “speaking to the US about failures of foreign policy” shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

“We expelled this coup in the name of democracy. We got on to the streets and shed our blood. This should be underlined,” he said.

Turkey is facing ongoing criticism for its response to the military uprising last Friday night, as fears of a second violent coup continue to grow.

Mr Kalin continued: “Our allies have unequivocally condemned the coup. When [other countries] start talking about how the law should be upheld, it sounds as if a coup didn’t happen.”

President Erdoğan has refused to rule out the reintroduction of the death penalty in Turkey for those who “committed treason” through their involvement in the coup.

Overall more than 58,000 people have so far been detained or suspended from the military, judiciary, police and education systems on suspicion of involvement in the coup.

US-based Islamist cleric Fethullah Gülen has been accused by the Turkish government of organising the coup attempt, something he and his su.

Mr Kalin meanwhile confirmed the government requested Mr Gülen be extradited back to Turkey, questioning why America “should bother with him” as he is “not even a US citizen”.

Mr Gülen has been accused of building a network of opposition against President Erdoğan, encouraging goverment officials to oppose his leadership. Last night, he released a statement appealing to the American government to reject the extradition request.

Several Turkish navy ships remain unaccounted for, amid suspicions their commanders were among the coup plotters.

Turkey’s Nato membership could be under threat if it fails to uphold the rule of law in the wake of the uprising, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Tuesday.