A court in the Turkish capital Ankara has ruled that President Abdullah Gül must be prosecuted for embezzlement of government funds.

The charges date back to the 1990s, before he became president.
Mr Gül allegedly embezzled funds intended for the election campaign of the Islamist Welfare Party, the predecessor of the current AK party.

The president's office has rejected the accusations, saying that according to the constitution, the president can only be put on trial for treason. The AK party is regularly at loggerheads with the Turkish establishment, including many judges and soldiers who fear that the current government has a hidden Islamist agenda.