Ministry: No red bulletin for Dalan yet

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The Justice Ministry said yesterday that no international arrest warrant had been issued yet for Bedrettin Dalan, a prominent suspect in alleged plots to overthrow the government who has recently been photographed in Germany.

A ministry statement said Turkey had asked in June for Dalan’s provisional detention pending an extradition request following a tip-off that he was in Germany. The German authorities however rejected the request on grounds that he risked life imprisonment in the case, it said.

“Work is still continuing to have a red bulletin issued for the suspect,” the statement said.

An Istanbul court had issued an arrest warrant for Dalan in January and asked the Justice Ministry the following month to complete the necessary procedures so that Interpol could also issue an international arrest warrant for him.

Dalan, a former Istanbul mayor and owner of schools, went abroad in November 2008, shortly before police raided his İstek Foundation as part of the probe into Ergenekon, the purported network that plotted to throw Turkey into political chaos and pave the way for a military coup.

Earlier this week, a person who identified himself as Dalan called a live television program to deny allegations that a suspect held in the controversial match-fixing probe had brought him money in Belarus so that he can sustain himself while on the run. He said he was residing in Stuttgart, Germany. The following day Dalan was reportedly photographed in Mannheim.