A Turkish court has ruled for the seizure of the assets of three former Galatasaray football club players as part of an ongoing witch-hunt against the faith-based Gülen movement.
Arrest warrants had also been issued on Wednesday for former football stars Arif Erdem, Uğur Tütüneker and İsmail Demiriz due to their alleged links to the movement.
Police detained Demiriz during a raid at his home in the Büyükçekmece district of İstanbul on Wednesday. Erdem and Tütüneker are reportedly abroad now.
According to government media, the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office added the names of the three former Galatasaray football club players to an indictment in which the primary suspect is former football star and former Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Hakan Şükür, after news reports published last week claimed that all four have links to the Gülen movement.
The prosecutor’s office had already issued an arrest warrant for former football star and deputy Şükür last week and seized his assets. Police also detained Şükür’s father after failing to arrest the footballer. The father was later arrested by a court.
Şükür and Erdem were playing for Galatasaray when they won the UEFA Cup in 2000.