(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A Turkish court has issued an arrest warrant for long-time Erdogan rival Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric, state media reports.
The 1st Istanbul Penal Court of Peace accepted the request of Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office to issue an arrest warrant for Gulen yesterday, official news agency Anadolu reported. The prosecutor said Gulen should be charged with setting up or running an armed "terrorist" group.
This comes in the wake of the last week's media raids, during which over 20 suspected Gulen supporters, including chief editors and media executives, were detained.
The arrest warrant would take Erdogan's campaign to root out Gulen supporters, including purges of the judiciary and police, to the international arena potentially testing already strained relations with Washington.
Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999. He was a close ally of Erdogan in the early years after his ruling AK Party took power in 2002 but has been in open conflict with him since a graft investigation emerged a year ago targeting the then-prime minister's inner circle.
Erdogan portrays the investigation as part of a coup attempt and describes Gulen's followers as traitors and terrorists - all charges that Gulen, who runs a vast network of schools and business enterprises in Turkey and abroad, denies.
Turkish courts have dropped the corruption cases, critics at home and in the West citing that as evidence Erdogan is stripping the judiciary of its independence.
Asked about a report that a warrant had been issued, a government official, requesting anonymity, said: "There is no decision yet. The prosecutor has made a request and the judge is evaluating it."
It was not immediately clear on what specific grounds the warrant was being requested. If it is forthcoming, Turkish authorities would be free to apply to the United States for extradition, with no guarantee of success. Erdogan's image in the West, once that of a moderate reformer, has been eroded as his open intolerance of opposition and of criticism has grown.
Meanwhile, a Turkish court yesterday remanded in custody the head of a national TV network and three ex-police officers on terrorism charges, in a case linked with a top foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that has strained EU ties.
Samanyolu TV chief Hidayet Karaca was placed under arrest on charges of forming a terrorist group, after being detained with over two dozen others in weekend raids on journalists, scriptwriters and police accused of plotting to overthrow Erdogan.
The court, however, ordered the release of Ekrem Dumanli, the editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily which has repeatedly accused Erdogan of running a corrupt regime and who was arrested in the same raids last Sunday.
Both the Zaman newspaper and the STV channel are linked to Gulen, a one-time ally of Erdogan whom the Turkish strongman has now vowed to crush without mercy.
Dumanli defiantly told hundreds of supporters outside the court afer this release that "the press cannot be silenced, media will never succumb to intimidations."
Seven other suspects in the case were ordered released by the court in Istanbul while three more - all ex-police officers - were also remanded in custody.
Forming terror group
Erdogan accuses Gulen of running a "parallel state" and being behind sensational corruption allegations against his inner circle that broke on December 17 last year. Gulen, who is believed to have millions of followers in Turkey and runs private crammer schools around the world, has vehemently denied all the allegations against him.
State-run TRT television and the website of the pro-government Sabah newspaper said that an arrest warrant had also been issued for Gulen "for leading a terrorist organisation".
There was no immediate confirmation of this from the court and the story later disappeared from the website of TRT with no explanation. However, it remained on the website of Sabah.
The United States has so far paid little attention to repeated requests from Turkey for Gulen's extradition from his secluded compound in the state of Pennsylvania.
Turkish television said that Karaca had been charged with "forming and running a terrorist organisation". The three former senior Istanbul police officers arrested - Tufan Erguder, Ertan Ercikti and Mustafa Kilcaslan - had been charged with "membership of a terrorist organisation".
Dumanli has been slapped with an exit ban from Turkey, indicating he is still set to face trial. It was not immediately clear what charges he might face.
According to Zaman's website, Karaca raised his hands after the decision was announced and said: "No need to be worried, God helps." "Just as this is an arrest order for a fictional scenario, this is a fictional ruling. "Those who made this decision will appear before the court one day," he said.
His arrest is believed to be linked to a popular drama series on STV, "Tek Turkiye" (One Turkey), which tells the story of a doctor who goes to work in the Kurdish-majority southeast amid the armed rebellion by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels.
The European Union had condemned the arrests as running contrary to European values but Erdogan has struck back, telling the bloc to "mind their own business" in a row that risks badly damaging relations.
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