ISTANBUL: A Turkish court on Friday remanded in custody the head of a national TV network and three ex-police officers on terrorism charges, in a case linked with a top foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that has strained EU ties.

Prosecutors also asked an Istanbul court to issue an arrest warrant for Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Turkish cleric who Erdogan regards as his top enemy, also on terrorism charges.

Samanyolu TV chief Hidayet Karaca was placed under arrest on charges of forming a terrorist group, after being detained with over two dozen others in weekend raids on journalists, scriptwriters and police accused of plotting to overthrow Erdogan.

The court however ordered the release of Ekrem Dumanli, the editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily which has repeatedly accused Erdogan of running a corrupt regime and who was arrested in the same raids last Sunday.

Both the Zaman newspaper and the STV channel are linked to Gulen, a one-time ally of Erdogan whom the Turkish strongman has now vowed to crush without mercy.

Dumanli defiantly told hundreds of supporters outside the court after his release that “the press cannot be silenced, media will never succumb to intimidations”. Seven other suspects in the case were ordered released by the court in Istanbul while three more — all ex-police officers — were also remanded in custody.

Erdogan accuses Gulen of running a “parallel state” and being behind sensational corruption allegations against his inner circle that broke on December 17 last year.

According to Zaman’s website, Karaca raised his hands after the decision was announced and said: “No need to be worried, God helps”. “Just as this is an arrest order for a fictional scenario, this is a fictional ruling”.

Gulen, who is believed to have millions of followers in Turkey and runs private crammer schools around the world through his Hizmet (Service) group, has vehemently denied all the allegations against him.

The prosecutors asked the court for the warrant to arrest Gulen for leading a “criminal” group acting against the “rules and laws in media, economy and bureaucracy,” the state Anatolia news agency reported.

According to a copy of the request published in Turkish media, Gulen is charged with setting up and directing an “armed terrorist organisation” as well as using intimidation to deprive a person of their freedom.

The United States has so far paid little attention to repeated requests from Turkey for Gulen’s extradition from his secluded compound in the state of Pennsylvania.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2014