Former prosecutor remanded in custody over FETO links

ISTANBUL

A former Turkish prosecutor -- who was arrested on Monday in Istanbul for his alleged ties to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) -- was remanded in custody, security sources said on Tuesday.

Mehmet Murat Dalkus, a prosecutor during the Ergenekon trials, was expelled Monday from his profession by the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors due to his alleged involvement with FETO and had been wanted.

Provincial gendarmerie command arrested him following a two-month investigation.

He is accused of abuse of duty, deprivation of liberty and membership in an armed terrorist organization.

Ergenekon and Balyoz cases

The Ergenekon conspiracy probe, dating back to 2007, led to a series of trials of military officers, politicians, academics and journalists alleged to be members of Ergenekon, a clandestine organization accused of plotting against the government.

They were convicted in 2013, but the Supreme Court of Appeals later overturned hundreds of convictions in the case.

Last year, Turkish authorities said the 2013 Ergenekon trial was based on fabricated evidence and blamed the prosecutors, who were FETO member soldiers, of trying to purge the military of rival officers.

In the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) case, hundreds of Turkish military personnel, including high-ranking generals, were convicted for plotting a coup against the then newly elected Justice and Development (AK) Party government in 2003.

In early 2015, an Istanbul high court overturned the convictions against all 236 suspects and acquitted them.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016 which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.