Ex-police chief held in Turkish 'parallel state' probe

IZMIR, Turkey

Seventeen suspects, including the former chief of Izmir province’s police, had their prison detention extended Monday, a court official said.

The detainees are all alleged to be part of a “parallel state” conspiracy headed by Fetullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Turkish preacher who runs a network of schools and commercial enterprises in Turkey and around the world.

The most high-profile prisoner is Ali Bilkay, who previously headed the police in one of Turkey’s most populous provinces, according to a judicial official in Izmir who spoke under a customary condition of anonymity.

Also detained until trial were one of Bilkay’s former deputies Mehmet Ali Sevik, two inspectors from the governor’s office, Ferda Ileri and Ahmet Kaya, and Seyfullah Ozdemir, an ex-official in the food and agriculture ministry.

The 17 were among a group of 49 suspects arrested last week on order of the Izmir chief public prosecutor’s office. Warrants for a further eight, including Gulen, remain outstanding. Those arrested were largely government, local provincial and police officials at the time of the allegations.

They were detained for allegedly “acting outside of their legal authority” in relation to a 2012 espionage case said to have involved members of the Turkish military.

The court ordered the suspects to be held at the Kiriklar maximum security prison.

Investigations into the “parallel state” focus the “Gulen Terror Organization” that is said to have penetrated the Turkish state, particularly the criminal justice system, in a bid to overthrow the current government.

Hundreds of police officers, prosecutors and officials have been arrested during such investigations, including those involved in a 2013 corruption inquiry that targeted senior government ministers.