Turkish court issues arrest warrant for U.S.-based Islamic scholarDecember 19, 2014 - 22:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Turkish court has issued an arrest warrant for U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, a former ally turned arch-enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Hurriyet Daily News reported. The Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul described Gülen in a Dec 18 request to the 1st Criminal Court of Peace as, “The leader of a criminal organization publicly known as the ‘Hizmet Movement,’ which was structured in media, economy and bureaucracy in violation of laws and regulations.” Prosecutor Hasan Yılmaz requested the arrest warrant by stressing that “enough evidence showing that Gülen committed a crime was collected during the investigation” into the activity of his community. The request noted that Gülen has been abroad since 1998 and the prosecution was not able to contact him for the investigation, Anadolu Agency reported. According to the request that the court accepted Dec. 19, Gülen is accused by the prosecution on three counts: 1) Forming and managing a terrorist organization, which carries a 10-15 years prison sentence. 2) Causing a victim to be unrightfully prosecuted due to slander, which carries 3-7 years of prison sentence. 3) Depriving a person from his/her freedom through force, threat and fraud, which carries a 2-7 years prison sentence. Earlier, TRT Haber, the state-run television news station, had rescinded a story in which it claimed an Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant for Gülen. In police raids on Dec 14, Samanyolu Media Group head Hidayet Karaca was arrested, along with daily Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı. Dumanlı, however, was released by the court on Dec 19. Both the Samanyolu channel and the Zaman newspaper are linked to Gülen. Erdoğan has repeatedly accused Gülen, whose followers are thought to hold influential positions within the police and judiciary, of conducting the graft investigation in December 2013 as part of a “coup attempt” to overthrow the government. Photo: Flickr Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Fly Arna license suspended, says Armenia official The license of the Armenian airline Fly Arna has been suspended for six months, an official says. President stresses Armenia’s clear position to achieve peace On the eve of the International Francophonie Day, the Armenian President met with French intellectuals. Termination of servicing of MIR cards. IDBank It will not be possible to ensure the full operation of MIR cards in IDBank’s POS-terminals and ATMs Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. |