The country of Turkey, a NATO ally, has issued an extradition order to the United States for Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish national living in Pennsylvania.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recently put down a coup attempt by Turkish military officers to overthrow him. Europe and the United States condemned the coup, an attempt against a democratically elected leader.

In 1999, Gulen broke with Erdogan in an apparent power struggle and took refuge in the United States. Many Turks, including Erdogan, believe the coup was masterminded by Gulen. They want him brought back to Turkey for trial.

Some have deplored the harshness with which Erdogan is dealing with suspects in the coup plot, suggesting Erdogan is using the coup as a means to consolidate power, even become a dictator. They also wonder if Gulen could receive a fair trail in Turkey, if he is indeed guilty of the charges. Is Erdogan merely using his current popularity for putting down the coup as a way to get rid of an old antagonist?

The United States says it is considering the extradition request and has asked for absolute proof that Gulen is indeed guilty. He says he had nothing to do with the coup.

This is not the first time dissidents have sought refuge in the United States. More recently, Yu Jie, a Chinese dissident, settled with his wife and son in Washington, D.C. to continue his writing. Yu Jie, a Christian, writing in First Things (August/September, 2016), cites Christianity’s growth in China and predicts that “Christianity is China’s future.” This is probably not the future desired by current Chinese leaders.

Gullen’s fate is still to be decided as of this writing. Has he been guilty of aid to a coup against a democracy? Or is he one of a long line of persecuted dissidents the country has taken in, from religious nonconformists to political exiles?