11 more soldiers linked to Erdogan hotel attack remanded

By Durmus Genc

ANKARA (AA) - Eleven soldiers accused of taking part in an attack on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s vacation hotel on the night of the July 15 coup bid were remanded in custody Thursday.

They were detained on July 31 over their alleged involvement in the attack in Marmaris, Mugla, where Erdogan was vacationing when the attempted coup was launched.

Sukru Seymen, Enes Yilmaz, Ergun Sahin, Ismail Yigit, Mehmet Demir, Muhammet Burak Ipek, Murat Kose, Bahadir Sagun, Mehmet Ozturk, Mustafa Serdar Ozay and Muammer Gozubuyuk were transferred to Ankara.

A total of 25 suspected members of the military squad involved in the attack -- who are believed to have been ordered to capture or kill Erdogan -- were previously remanded in custody to face trial.

One soldier, Burkay Karatepe, still remains at large.

On July 15, Erdogan told the nation on live television amid an ongoing coup attempt that he had narrowly escaped an attack on his life when the hotel in Marmaris where he was staying was bombed only 15 minutes after he left.

Turkey's government has said the defeated coup, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO network.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

* Diyar Guldogan contributed to this report from Ankara.