Erdogan has been accusing cleric Fethullah Gulen for instigating the attempted coup in mid-July. Karakoyun: "Erdogan puts his personal interests above state, he puts his personal interest above law and above judiciary." 

"There is no fair trial in Turkey, there is no independence of law, there is no independence of courts," Karakoyun told DW host Tim Sebastian in Frankfurt. "In such a situation, it is suicide to turn back to Turkey," he added on whether Fethullah Gulen should return to clear his name.

Karakoyun said the Turkish president was not interested in finding out who really was behind the coup. Instead, Erdogan had defined the Gulen movement as "a scapegoat," Karakoyun said. "Under this pretext he is cleaning and purging the whole state."

The director of the Foundation for Dialogue and Education defended the religious leader: "Gulen always said that there has to be a separation between religion and state and that there has to be a democratic state and he always said that he has nothing to do with politics. Freedom of thought, freedom of emotions, freedom of press are core values that we stand for."

Ercan Karakoyun, born in Schwerte, Germany, in 1980, studied spatial planning at the University of Dortmund. He has been the director of the Foundation for Dialogue and Education since it was founded in November 2013. According to his personal website, he also is a member of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and the German Sociological Association (DGS). 

Renowned journalists Tim Sebastian and Michel Friedman take turns in presenting DW's top political talk show "Conflict Zone" with German and international decision-makers. The program airs every Wednesday at 17.30 UTC and is available online on demand.