Seven suspects from Gülen-linked Koza İpek companies released

Mesut Hasan Benli – ANKARA

CİHAN photo

Seven suspects, who were detained as part of the operation launched against Koza İpek, a company linked to the Turkish government’s ally-turned-nemesis Fethullah Gülen, have been released on probation. 

An Ankara court on Sept. 2 decided to release on probation the seven suspects detained during the Koza İpek raids.

Turkish had police raided 23 companies in Ankara belonging to Koza İpek on the grounds of “giving financial support to the Fetullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) and conducting its propaganda,” state-run Anadolu Agency reported. 

The conglomerate’s chairman, Akın İpek, was not among the seven people who were detained because he left Turkey two days before for London, according to the report, which also said police had seized documents and computers found at the company offices.

The search inside the Koza İpek HQ in Ankara’s Yenimahalle district continued until the early hours of Sept. 2, when at 5 a.m. the confiscated material was taken to the police department. 

The raid, led by Turkey’s Financial Crime Investigation Board (MASAK), was launched at around 8 a.m. on Sept. 1, and was first reported by the Kanaltürk and Bugün television stations, two media outlets owned by the company. 

Although there had not been a police raid on İpek’s media outlets by noon, the Aug. 31 ruling of the magistrate lists the Ankara offices of Kanaltürk and Bugün among the addresses to be raided, according to local media reports.