Turkey to seek extradition of former footballer believed to be in Greece

A Turkish court has begun extradition proceedings for a former football player who is accused of being a member of the Gulen movement, Turkish news site Diken reported on Thursday.

According to the news site, Arif Erdem fled to Greece after Turkish authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in July 2016, shortly after the failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

If arrested, he is facing a 15-year jail sentence. Erdem has denied accusations of being a member of any terrorist group.

Turkish news website Ahval says the former footballer spent most of his career as a forward for Istanbul team Galatasaray, winning the UEFA cup with them in 2000.

Thousands of people have fled Turkey since 2016, following a crackdown on supporters of Fetullah Gulen, a self-exiled cleric in the US and founder of the FETO organisation, which Ankara...