Turkey issues arrest warrant for ex-football star over links with Gulen
Xinhua, August 12, 2016 Adjust font size:
A Turkish court issued arrest warrant for former football star Hakan Sukur and his father over the failed coup attempt, Turkish media reported on Friday.
Hakan Sukur was accused by the prosecutors of having links to U.S. based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen and being a member of his Fethullah Terror Organization, which Ankara claims was behind the coup attempt on July 15, according to state-owned Anadolu agency.
Sukur, who left the country for U.S. one year ago, was also a former member of parliament with the ruling Justice and Development Party until 2013.
Anadolu agency also noted that the court in the northwestern province of Sakarya ordered the confiscation of all the bank accounts, vehicles and other assets of the ex-football star.
A similar warrant has also been issued for his father Selmet Sukur, who was later detained in Sakarya, according to the reports.
Hakan Sukur was one of the most famous football stars in Turkey, who scored 51 times in 112 appearances for the Turkish national side and helped Turkey get the third place in the 2002 World Cup. Endit