6 suspects remanded in Turkish army food poisoning

MANISA, Turkey (AA) - A Turkish court early Thursday remanded six suspects, including the chief executive of a catering company, for a massive food poisoning incident at a military barracks, a judicial source said.

Nineteen of 25 suspects who were detained earlier were released, while the remaining six were remanded in custody in the western province of Manisa, according to the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity,

The catering company’s chief executive for the Manisa area, along with four cooks, are among the remanded suspects, the sources added.

Hundreds of soldiers at the Manisa First Infantry Training Brigade Command fell ill after dinner June 17 and more than 730 military personnel needed medical attention, Manisa’s chief public prosecutor said.

Dozens of suspects, including soldiers, were arrested following the incident.

The poisoning Saturday was not the first.

More than 1,000 soldiers in the same area suffered the same fate late last month and nearly 200 were hospitalized, according to the Defense Minister Fikri Isik.