Bulgaria has handed over to Turkey Abdullah Buyuk, a Turkish businessman whose extradition Ankara sought in connection with his alleged close links with U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen blamed as the mastermind of the failed coup attempt in Turkey.

Buyuk was handed over to the Turkish authorities on Wednesday, Bulgarian public TV broadcaster BNT reported.

The Ministry of the Interior in Sofia announced in a brief statement late on Wednesday that the Turkish citizen was sent back to Turkey because he had failed to leave Bulgaria within the time frame specified in his residence permit.

A Bulgarian court rejected a request of the Turkish authorities to extradite Buyuk over links to Fethullah Gulen in March 2016. 

Ankara describes Gulen and his movement, to which it refers as a terrorist organization, as the driving force behind the attempted military coup on July 15.

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