The preacher Turkey accuses of masterminding the failed July coup slammed the country’s judicial system Thursday, after an Istanbul court issued a warrant for his arrest.
“It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan’s drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy,” Fethullah Gülen said in a statement, AFP reports.
According to the Turkish state-owned Anadolu news agency, the warrant was issued earlier on Thursday and accuses Gülen of “ordering the July 15 coup.”
Gülen, a one-time ally of the Turkish president who is now in self-exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, denied he was involved and said the movement he leads is a charitable network promoting tolerant Islam.
“The issuance of an arrest warrant from a Turkish court changes nothing about my status or my views,” Gülen said in the statement. “I have repeatedly condemned the coup attempt in Turkey and denied any knowledge or involvement.”