KONYA, Turkey
Five suspects were arrested in an ongoing “parallel state” probe case when they were presented before a court in the Turkish province of Konya Monday.
Anadolu Atayun, former head of Konya police’s anti-smuggling and organized crime bureau, was among those arrested.
Thirteen other suspects in the case, who were also presented before the court, were released. The 18 suspects had been under police detention and were earlier referred to the court Sunday.
The Konya prosecutor's office had ordered the detention of 66 suspects across 19 provinces on charges of being members of a criminal organization Friday.
The arrests were the latest in a campaign of “parallel state” operations that has seen hundreds arrested for links to the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his so called Gulen movement since last summer.
The movement and its followers are accused of orchestrating a corruption probe which targeted high-ranking Turkish officials in December 2013 in a bid to overthrow the government.
According to the Turkish government, the “parallel state” or “parallel structure” refers to a purported group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials embedded in the country's institutions, including the judiciary and police, who are allegedly trying to undermine the elected Turkish government.
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