Authorities in Turkey have reportedly issued an arrest warrant for the capture of former Inter forward Hakan Sukur, following last month’s failed coup in the country.
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Searches were carried out at two houses in western Turkey, as officials said he faced charges of being a member of an “armed terrorist organisation”.
USA officials say the State and Justice Departments will give due consideration to the extradition request for Gulen and make any decision based on the evidence presented.
The head of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusolgu, said on Friday that Ankara had received “positive signs” from the United States on the extradition request.
After football, Sukur went into politics and was in 2011 elected MP for Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development party (AKP).
Sukur spent a slightly forgettable year in England during his playing career, spending the 2002/03 season at Blackburn Rovers. He resigned in 2013 after a corruption probe that targeted Erdogan and his inner circle, siding with the movement of Gulen.
A picture of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen placed on a hanging dummy in front of a Turkish national flag at Kizilay Square in Ankara on August 2, 2016, during a protest against July’s failed military coup.
Sukur had recently objected to the shutting down of Hizmet run schools. He faced a separate court case in June accused of insulting Erdogan.
He is not the only Turkish sports star caught up in the controversy after the coup bid. They insist they were not involved in the attempted coup, had been tasked with transporting wounded soldiers and civilians and had fled for their lives after coming under fire from Turkish police.
Turkey has launched a massive crackdown on alleged supporters of the Gulen movement, raising concerns among European governments and human rights groups. Some 11,600 people were released while some 5,700 remain in custody pending investigations, he said.
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While Hakan Sukur was reported to have fled to the United States, Selmet Sukur was detained on August 12 after being caught in a mosque in the province’s Adapazari distrcit.
