March 08, 2016•Update: March 09, 2016
ANKARA
Thirty-three people were arrested and seven others remanded in custody as part of the investigation into the "parallel state" last week in Turkey.
A court in Istanbul has appointed trustees for Cihan News Agency and Advertising A.S. as well as for the Zaman daily, which are said to be linked with the U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen.
They are accused of supporting what is called the Gulenist Terror Organization, headed by Gulen, which is said to have infiltrated Turkey’s state apparatus with thousands of followers in an effort to overthrow the government.
Meanwhile, two senior executives of Boydak Holding, Haci Boydak and Memduh Boydak, were also arrested as part of an investigation into the "parallel state".
Boydak Holding Executive Board Chairman Haci Boydak and his younger brother, CEO Memduh Boydak, are accused of being members of and providing financial support to the “parallel state", while two other executives – Murat Bozdag and Erol Boydak – are accused of spreading propaganda for the organization on social media.
Within the scope of the investigation for a controversial stop-and-search of Turkish intelligence agency trucks en route to Syria in January 2014, lawyer Faruk Oksuz was arrested last week for allegedly being the member of the "parallel state". Thus, a total of four lawyers allegedly member of "parallel state" have been arrested.
Known also by the initials FETO/PDY, the parallel state designates a clandestine group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials, allegedly embedded in the country’s institutions, including the judiciary and the police.
