Turkish Cypriot Mufti arrested in Turkey in connection with Gulen probe

Turkish Cypriot Mufti Talip Atalay has been arrested by Turkish authorities in connection with investigations into the Fethullah Gulen movement.

According to reports the mufti was arrested three days ago while on a visit in a friend’s house in Diyarbakir, in Turkey.

His deputy said in an announcement that Atalay was called to the office of the investigator in Mersin for unknown reasons.

Following the failed coup attempt last July against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, thousands of people have been arrested on the suspicion that they are linked with the Fethullah Gulen movement.

Gulen, a Turkish cleric who is in self-exile in the US, is sought by the Turkish government for alleged involvement in last year’s coup.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.