This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Prosecutor asks Turkish court to issue arrest warrant for Fethullah Gülen
Sorry - this page has been removed.
(4 months later)
A prosecutor has asked a Turkish court to issue an arrest warrant for US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who President Tayyip Erdoğan accuses of trying to overthrow him, but no court decision has been made, a government official said on Friday.
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason.
Earlier, state broadcaster TRT Haber reported that the court had issued an arrest warrant for Gülen, but it withdrew the story from its website without giving a reason.
Gülen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has been in open conflict with Erdoğan since a corruption investigation targeting the then-prime minister’s inner circle a year ago.
For further information, please contact:
Erdoğan blamed the investigation on Gülen, but the cleric denied involvement.
Turkish courts have dropped the corruption cases and Erdoğan has purged the state apparatus of suspected Gülen supporters, removing from their posts thousands of police officers and hundreds of judges and prosecutors.
Erdoğan said in April he would ask the United States to extradite Gülen, but such a move can only be made after an arrest warrant is issued and evidence of a crime produced.
A Turkish court on Friday kept a media executive close to Gülen and three other people in custody pending trial on accusations of belonging to a terrorist group, in a case which Erdoğan has defended as a response to “dirty operations” by his enemies.
• This article was amended on 19 December 2014. The original headline, based on the withdrawn TRT Haber story, said that Turkey had issued a warrant for Gülen. This has been changed
