Turkey: 7 'parallel state' suspects remanded in custody

By Omer Sut

IZMIR, Turkey (AA) - A criminal court in western Izmir province on Saturday remanded in custody seven suspects, including a regular army major, accused of producing false evidence in a parallel state probe.

The court also imposed a travel ban on two other people linked to the case.

The nine suspects had been accused by the Izmir Deputy Chief Prosecutor of “producing false evidence through various irregularities” in a military espionage probe in Izmir.

Separately, the court issued arrest warrants for 16 fugitives in the case.

Described as the “parallel state”, the FETO/PDY is said to be behind the December 2013 corruption investigation into senior Turkish government figures, including ministers.

The FETO/PDY group is headed by the U.S.-based preacher, Fetullah Gulen, who runs a network of schools and commercial enterprises in Turkey and around the world.

Gulen is also the main suspect in the investigation of mass wiretapping of December 2013, which targeted more than 7,000 people.

Since early 2014, investigations into the parallel state have seen hundreds of civil servants, including police and public prosecutors, arrested or reassigned.

*Anadolu Agency's Fatjon Prroni contributed to this report from Ankara.