Turkey court issues arrest warrant for Fethullah Gulen

Gulen is a former ally of President Erdogan

Pennsylvania-based religious leader rejects allegation by Istanbul-based court he ordered failed July 15 coup attempt.

A court in Turkey has issued a formal warrant for the arrest of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Turkish Muslim religious leader who the government accuses of being behind the failed July 15 coup attempt that left more than 270 people dead.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said on Thursday that an Istanbul-based court issued the warrant for Gulen for "ordering the July 15 coup attempt".


The government says Gulen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who now lives in self-imposed exile in the US state of Pennsylvania, masterminded the coup attempt by renegade officers in the Turkish military, and wants him extradited to Turkey.

"This arrest warrant for Fethullah Gulen is more of a symbolic legal move," said Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Istanbul. "It is not going to have a practical effect because Gulen is not here in Turkey."