Arrest warrant issued for US-based Turkish opposition figure

has issued an arrest warrant for the US-based Turkish opposition figure, Fethullah Gülen.

The court in the Turkish city of Istanbul issued the warrant on Friday against the self-exiled US-based cleric, who sports millions of supporters.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is has accused Gülen of plotting to overthrow the state.

Corruption investigations surfaced last year targeting Erdogan's inner circle and souring the relations between the two.

The Turkish head of state has said the probes were a plot to overthrow him orchestrated by a "parallel structure" of supporters of Gülen. Gülen denies the charge.

The Turkish premier has vowed to pursue Gülen’s supporters "in their lairs."

Gulen heads the influential spiritual and social movement of Hizmet.

Erdogan has also vowed to crush the "evil forces" associated with the movement and its leader.

"We are not just faced with a simple network, but one which is a pawn of evil forces at home and abroad," the president declared last Friday.

Last week, Turkish police detained more than 20 journalists and staff in raids on opposition media outlets close to Gülen.

A Turkish court has ordered the formal arrest of four of the detainees.

It, however, ordered the release of Ekrem Dumanli, the editor-in-chief of one of the country's biggest newspapers, Zaman. The court also banned Dumanli from traveling, pending possible charges.

European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn have condemned Turkey’s raid on journalists and media people as “against the European values and standards Turkey aspires to be part of.”

HN/HMV/SS