Azerbaijani businessman remanded over FETÖ links

ISTANBUL

A businessman of Azerbaijani origin was remanded into custody by an Istanbul court for having links with the FETÖ, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on March 17.

Mubariz Mansimov Gurbanoğlu and his company's director Nuray Nurcihan Perker were detained by the financial crimes police team as part of an investigation carried out by prosecutors in Istanbul.

Following the interrogation, Gurbanoğlu and Perker were referred to the court for arrest.

The court ruled to arrest the businessman for being linked to FETÖ, the group responsible for 2016's failed coup in Turkey.

Perker, meanwhile, was released on bail.

Earlier, an Istanbul penal court issued a search and detention warrant for the suspects under the investigation launched on charges of "being a member to an armed terrorist organization."

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

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