Yuksel, who has been working on the Gulen investigation for almost a year, asked Ankara No. 2 DGM's substitute judge Ramazan Aksan refused Yuksel's request.

Yuksel then appealed to a higher court for Gulen's arrest. Asked if Turkey had been in contact with the U.S. authorities over Gulen's extradition, Yuksel said there had been no such contact. He added that there has been no initiative for Gulen's extradition from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs either.

Yuksel has charged Gulen with setting up organizations meant to divide the country under Turkish Penal Code (TCK) articles 312 and 313. Yuksel is expected to file a suit against Gulen next week even if his request for Gulen's arrest is rejected by the higher court. Article 312 has from Western world and within Turkey.

While former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan has been convicted under Article 312 and is waiting for matters to be finalized, the former mayor of Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, former mayor of Kayseri Şukru Karatepe and former Minister of Education Hasan Celal Guzel have already been sentenced to imprisonment for various terms.

The Western world in general and the European Union in particular have asked Turkey to amend Article 312 and to end the arbitrary use of it.

Gulen will return if an arrest warrant is issued

Harun Tokak the chairman of the Writers and Journalists Foundation, which is known to be close to Gulen, stated that Fethullah Gulen has always respected Turkish laws and will come back to Turkey if an arrest warrant is issued. Welcoming the substitute judge's decision to reject Yuksel's request for Gulen's arrest, Tokak said: "We have been saying from the very beginning that even the investigation into Gulen has been a great injustice to a man who has always thought that serving his country is like worshipping Allah. We expect a similar decision from the higher court today." Tokak stressed that Gulen has been in the United States for health reasons and will come back as soon as the arrest warrant is issued. 03.14.2000

Share Link: