Leader of Turkey’s Tahşiye group Mehmet Doğan, who is at the heart of the latest crackdown on media, has told CNNTurk that he “loves Osama bin Laden.” report today zaman

Turkish authorities carried out a large-scale operation in the weekend, detaining dozens of journalists, scripwriters and police officials after Doğan filed a complaint that the group plotted against him. A Turkish court issued an arrest warrant for Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen on Friday on charges of publicly criticizing the leader of the al-Qaeda group.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan defended Doğan and his group, accusing detained journalists and Gülen for orchestrating a plot against him. Doğan was jailed for 17 months and he was later released pending trial.

Speaking to Akif Beki, former spokesman of Erdoğan, Doğan denied any links to al-Qaeda, but said he loves bin Laden because he is a Muslim. When asked if he views bin Laden as a terrorist or not, Doğan said he doesn’t know if “his jihad is right or wrong” because he is living a reclusive life.

In another video extensively broadcast on TVs, Doğan is heard praising bin Laden and al-Qaeda. In one case, Yiğit Bulut, who is now Erdoğan’s chief aide, says “we need to cleanse Islam from this al-Qaide affiliates.”