Turkey court issues arrest warrant for Fethullah Gulen

A court in Turkey has issued a formal warrant for the arrest of Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by the Turkish government of being behind the failed coup on 15 July that left more than 270 people dead.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said on Thursday that an Istanbul-based court issued the warrant for Gulen for "ordering the 15 July coup attempt."

Gulen is a former ally of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and currently lives in self-imposed exile in the US state of Pennsylvania. Turkey accused him of being the mastermind the coup attempt by renegade officers in the Turkish military, and wants him extradited to Turkey.

Gulen, who has denied the government's accusations, reportedly denounced the arrest warrant.

"It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of president Erdogan's drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Turkey has not yet made a formal extradition request, but the arrest warrant could be a prelude to that process.

According to Al Jazeera, the US has asked for evidence of Gulen's involvement, and has said the extradition process must be allowed to take its course.