By Murat Kaya, Mustafa Hatipoglu and Muhammed Enes Can
ISTANBUL
A U.S. Consulate employee has been summoned to testify as a suspect, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul said Monday.
According to a statement by the prosecutor’s office: “An employee at the U.S. Consulate Istanbul, N.M.C., who does not have diplomatic immunity, has been summoned to our chief public prosecutor’s office [in Istanbul] for his testimony.”
The statement added that his child and wife have been detained on terror charges in Amasya, a city in the Black Sea region.
The move came after Turkish national Metin Topuz, confirmed by the U.S.’ Istanbul Consulate as a local employee, was remanded in custody over terror charges by an Istanbul court last week.
Topuz is linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind last year’s defeated coup attempt in Turkey, according to a judicial source.
Topuz had testified that the employee's wife and child were alleged senior members of FETO, the statement added.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the attempted coup, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Topuz has been linked to a number of FETO suspects, including police commissioners and former prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, a fugitive accused of attempting to overthrow the government through the use of force, added the source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
