Turkish police arrest 9 in 'parallel state' probe

By Yilmaz Ekinci

BATMAN, Turkey (AA) - Nine people, including police officers and soldiers, were arrested Wednesday in an investigation into the “parallel state” in eastern Turkey, a security source said.

The suspects were arrested in simultaneous raids in Batman, Kars and Siirt provinces and are said to belong to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization led by U.S.-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. No information on the exact number of police or military members or their ranks was immediately available.

The Gulen group is accused of working to overthrow the Turkish government by infiltrating members into state bodies.

The parallel state is said to be behind a December 2013 corruption investigation into senior Turkish government figures, when it allegedly conducted mass wiretapping against more than 7,000 people.

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