Police arrest 100 'parallel state' suspects in Turkey
Arrest warrants have been issued for 140 people, including Bank Asya employees as part of 'parallel state' financing probe
Ilgın Karlıdağ
April 18, 2016•Update: April 22, 2016
Istanbul
ISTANBUL
Police arrested 100 people in Istanbul and nine other provinces across Turkey Monday as part of a series of ongoing operations against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)/Parallel State Structure (PDY), according to the local prosecutor's office.
The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday issued arrest warrants for 140 people, including Bank Asya employees, FETO/PDY executives and businessmen, as part of an investigation into around 40 million Turkish liras (nearly $14 million) provided to the banned organization between 2004 and 2015.
Described as the “parallel state”, the FETO/PDY is said to be behind the December 2013 corruption investigation into senior Turkish government figures, including ministers.
The FETO/PDY group is headed by the U.S.-based preacher, Fetullah Gulen, who runs a network of schools and commercial enterprises in Turkey and around the world.
Gulen is also the main suspect in the investigation of mass wiretapping of Dec. 17 and 21, 2013, which targeted more than 7,000 people.
Since early 2014, investigations into the parallel state have seen hundreds of civil servants, including police and public prosecutors, arrested or reassigned.
