Former rector held in Turkey's Gülen probe

ÇANAKKALE – Anadolu Agency

Former rector of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Sedat Laçiner, is seen in a file photo. AA photo

Former rector of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Sedat Laçiner has been detained in northwestern Turkey’s Çanakkale province in connection with a probe into the “parallel state” group, police sources said Dec. 26.

According to the sources, police launched an operation at different addresses in the province early morning and detained Laçiner and many other businessmen.

U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is the top suspect in numerous cases involving the “Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ)/Parallel State Structure (PDY),” an alleged organization led by him, which both Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) accuse of exploiting the judiciary and state institutions to achieve their goals.

Since early 2014, investigations into the parallel state have seen hundreds of civil servants, including police and public prosecutors, arrested or reassigned.