Turkey: 7 foreign ministry staff remanded in FETO probe

By Serdar Acil & Baris Kilic

ANKARA

An Ankara court on Wednesday remanded eight foreign ministry personnel in custody as part of a probe into the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), held responsible for the deadly July 15 failed coup, a judicial source said.

According to the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the suspects included a retired ambassador, Aydin Sefa Akay, who had been detained earlier on Wednesday by anti-terrorism police.

The suspects are charged with attempting to overthrow the government of Republic of Turkey and prevent its function, and being a member of an armed terrorist organization.

Turkey's government has said the defeated coup, which left over 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 also accused of 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.