Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday demanded two life sentences and an additional 1,900 years in prison for US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for masterminding last month's attempted coup.

But in a step back from threats to reintroduce the death penalty in the wake of the July 15 failed putsch, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said a fair trial would represent a harsher punishment for coup plotters than execution.

Ankara is sweeping ahead with a crackdown that has seen some 100,000 people either detained or lose their jobs, worrying Western allies, with simultaneous raids Tuesday against companies in Istanbul suspected of helping to finance the Gulen movement.

Gulen, who lives in a secluded compound in Pennsylvania, has vehemently denied that he and his supporters were behind the coup attempt.

In a 2,527-page indictment approved by prosecutors in the western Usak region, Gulen is charged with "attempting to destroy the constitutional order by force" and "forming and running an armed terrorist group" among other accusations, the Anadolu news agency reported.

The so-called Fethullah Terror Organisation (FETO) -- the name Ankara gives the group led by Gulen -- had infiltrated state archives through its members in the state institutions and intelligence units, according to the indictment.

The group has used foundations, private schools, companies, student dormitories, media outlets and insurance companies to serve its purpose of taking control of all state institutions, it added.

It has also collected funds from businessmen in the guise of "donations" and transferred the money to the US through front companies, and by using banks in the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and Germany, Anadolu reported.

- 'No patience, no faith'-

The symbolic punishment of two life sentences and an additional 1,900 years in prison for Gulen is one of the heaviest ever demanded in Turkey since the death penalty was abolished in 2004 as part of the country's bid to join the European Union.

Yildirim on Tuesday called for a fair trial instead of the death penalty for suspected coup plotters, in comments seen as softer after Erdogan had suggested that the government could bring back capital punishment.

"A person dies only once when executed," Yildirim said in parliament.

"There are tougher ways to die than the death (penalty) for them. That is an impartial and fair trial."

The prospect of the death penalty being restored had stunned the EU, which makes the abolition of capital punishment an unnegotiable condition for joining the bloc.

Erdogan said on Tuesday it was only natural to discuss whether to introduce the death penalty after the botched coup, and blasted Europe for its criticism.

"If the people have such a demand, (parliament) will discuss it," he said.

Turning to Europe, Erdogan said if what Turkey faced had taken place in the West, "they would both introduce capital punishment and declare a non-stop state of emergency".

"Believe me, they do not have the patience, strength and faith that we have," he said.

- Businessmen detained -

Turkey declared a three-month state of emergency after the coup and the sheer magnitude of the crackdown prompted worries among its EU partners of a witch-hunt.

Police on Tuesday raided dozens of companies in Istanbul in search of 120 suspects including CEOs, Anadolu said.

The suspects are accused of financing Gulen's activities, but the identity of the firms was not immediately clear.

Erdogan has vowed to eradicate businesses, charities and schools linked to Gulen, calling them "terror organisations" and "nests of terror".

Gulen, a reclusive cleric in who has lived in the US since 1999, has been repeatedly accused of running a "parallel state" since a corruption scandal embroiling then premier Erdogan and several of his ministers erupted in 2013.

Ankara wants Washington to extradite Gulen to face trial back home, indicating that any failure to deliver him will severely damage ties.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed the extradition process in a telephone call Tuesday with US counterpart John Kerry, the foreign ministry said, and US Vice President Joe Biden is due to visit Turkey to discuss the issue later this month.

Turkey has meanwhile sent a file to Greece asking for the extradition of eight Turkish soldiers who fled in a helicopter soon after the coup, Anadolu said.

The eight men -- two commanders, four captains and two sergeants -- were given a month's extension for their asylum requests last month.

Turkey court shuts down pro-Kurdish newspaper
Ankara (AFP) Aug 16, 2016 - A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered the temporary closure of a newspaper accused of links with Kurdish militants and spreading terrorist propaganda.

The court in Istanbul accused the pro-Kurdish Ozgur Gundem of "acting as the de facto news outlet" for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), state-run news agency Anadolu said. A Turkish official confirmed the court order.

The PKK -- considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and the United States -- has waged an insurgency in the southeast since 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed since it first took up arms.

Police raided the newspaper's office in Istanbul and detained four people, including journalists, the private Dogan news agency said.

Turkish opposition media reported that the editor, Zana Kaya, was also among those detained.

In one clip shared on Twitter, Gulfem Karatas, a presenter for pro-Kurdish channel IMC TV, could be heard screaming and the channel claimed on its website she and her cameraman were "assaulted" by police.

Launched in 1992, leftist daily Ozgur Gundem has been the subject of court closures and raids in the past and its journalists have been arrested. It was closed from 1994 until April 2011 when it started publishing again.

The paper has featured the writings of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned since 1999.

The Turkish-Kurdish language newspaper has a print circulation of less than 7,000, according to figures from earlier this month.

- 'Violation of rights' -

The Turkish official, who did not wish to be named, said the decision to close the newspaper had no links to the state of emergency declared after last month's failed coup.

"The defendants can appeal this decision," the official added.

The opposition Pro-Kurdish Democratic Peoples' Party (HDP) said in a statement the action against Ozgur Gundem was "unacceptable".

"This decision is clearly a violation of the people's right to news and against freedom of expression and thought."

Since the July 15 attempted coup, more than 130 media outlets have been shut down.

On July 27, 45 newspapers and 16 television stations were ordered to close, the official gazette said, prompting concern among Western leaders and press freedom organisations.

Also on Tuesday, the New York-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) urged the United Nations to look into "credible allegations of gross human rights violations in Turkey" following the failed coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

HRF said Turkish journalists faced "constant threats and retribution for their work, and are often harassed and prosecuted under criminal laws designed to stifle government criticism".