Turkish court rejects re-arrest bid in ‘parallel’ case

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

Ekrem Dumanlı, editor-in-chief of Zaman newspaper, poses with Saadet, his baby daughter who was born hours before his release in Istanbul.

An Istanbul court rejected on Dec. 31, 2014, a prosecutor’s objection to releasing eight people arrested in a high-profile police operation against what the Turkish government describes as the “parallel state.”

Last week, Prosecutor Hasan Yılmaz submitted a petition of objection to the court asking for the individuals to be rearrested.    
 
Among the suspects released was Ekrem Dumanlı, editor-in-chief of daily Zaman. He was released on condition that he would not travel outside Turkey.

 On Dec. 14, 2014, a police operation was launched against senior media figures and police officers in 13 provinces across Turkey for allegedly being affiliated with what the government describes as the “parallel state,” a purported group of civil servants embedded in the country’s institutions, including the judiciary and the police.

More than 20 people detained

More than 20 suspects were taken into custody for being allegedly linked with U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gülen and his “Hizmet” (Service) movement.

In December 2013, an anti-graft probe targeted several high-profile figures, including the sons of three former government ministers, as well as leading Turkish businessmen. The government denounced the probe as a “dirty plot” constructed by a “parallel state.”