The state-run Anadolu news agency said the warrant accuses the 44-year-old of “being a member of an armed terror group”.
Advertisement
Sukur, who reportedly left Turkey a year ago, was a Turkish worldwide who played for Inter Milan and Galatasaray. After a short spell in Italy he returned to Turkey and then back to Italy again in 2000, when was signed by Inter.
The ex-footballer is Turkey’s leading goalscorer with 51 goals in 112 appearances, while his club career saw him play for the likes of Inter Milan, Galatasaray, Blackburn Rovers, Torino and Parma.
He was a stalwart for Istanbul side Galatasaray but also had stints overseas for Inter Milan, Parma and Blackburn Rovers. He helped his country finish third in the 2002 World Cup, where he scored the fastest goal in the tournament’s history (10.8 seconds) against South Korea. A court on Thursday had ordered his arrest, as well as that of Sukur.
A warrant has been issued in Turkey for the arrest of former worldwide striker Hakan Sukur.
Gulen’s global network of schools and universities has also come under a renewed diplomatic siege from Ankara since the July 16 coup attempt, with Turkish officials demanding governments around the world shutter institutions linked to the scholar. He resigned in 2013 after a corruption probe that targeted Erdogan and his innser circle, siding with the movement of Gulen. Sukur had been put on trial in June on accusation of insulting President Erdogan on social media.
Sukur is one of a number of people still being sought by Turkish authorities.
Ekrem Beyaztas, a public prosecutor in the eastern province of Erzurum who was subject to a detention order, was caught Sunday night along the Syrian border in the southeastern province of Kilis, according to a statement released by the local governor’s office and confirmed by a Turkish official.
Advertisement
Gulen is also accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration into Turkish state and government establishments, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the “parallel state”.
