Arrest warrant in absentia, red notice issued for Gülen

An arrest warrant in absentia and a red notice has been issued in Turkey for the U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, while a local court has accepted an indictment against 69 suspects, including Gülen, for links to the alleged ?Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ)/Parallel State Structure (PDY).? 

Istanbul?s 13th Court of Serious Crimes accepted the 1,453-page indictment into suspected allies of Gülen, a former friend turned bitter foe of the Turkish government. It also issued an arrest warrant for the Pennsylvania-based Gülen and Sinan Dursun, who is reported to be Gülen?s assistant, in absentia. Both suspects will be searched for with a red notice, the court ordered. 

Gülen is charged with ?attempting to topple the government of the Turkish Republic or preventing it from fully or partially conducting its duties,? ?forming or managing the FETÖ/PDY, an armed organization,? and ?obtaining confidential data that need to be confidential for political spying purposes.? Punishments for the charges range from 37 years in jail to an aggravated life sentence. 

Former deputy police manager Hamza Tosun, former Istanbul financial branch head Yakub Sayg?l?, former deputy anti-financial crimes manager Kaz?m Aksoy and former deputy anti-financial crimes manager Yasin Topçu, who are all alleged to be managers of the armed organization, face aggravated life sentences and jail time of up to 338 years. 

Other suspects in the case, charged with being members of an armed organization, face prison time ranging from seven years to 330 years. 

The first hearings in the controversial case will be held on Jan. 6-8, 2016 and Jan. 11, while the venue of the trial has still yet to be determined. 

The indictment had been prepared...