Trustees appointed to Gulen-linked Turkish company

KAYSERI, Turkey

A Turkish court appointed Thursday trustees to Boydak Holding for alleged ties with Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group accused for the defeated July 15 coup.

The Second Criminal Court in the central province of Kayseri appointed five trustees to the company as part of an ongoing probe into the terrorist group, according to a judicial source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to talk to the media, said.

A former executive at the holding, Haci Boydak, and three other executives -- Sukru, Ilyas, and Bekir Boydak -- were remanded in custody early August, while a court in Kayseri ordered the release of the holding's chairman, Mustafa Boydak and another executive Halit Bayhan under judicial control.

An international travel ban was also imposed on Mustafa Boydak and Halit Bayhan.

According to the Boydak Holding website, the family-based consortium was established in 1957 and has interests in furniture, textiles, chemicals, marketing, logistics, and energy. Its 42 companies have employed more than 14,000 staff.

Turkey's government has said the defeated coup, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO network.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

*Hatice Kesgin contributed to this story from Ankara.