Turkey: Police arrests former prosecutor

By Orhan Onur Gemini and Sertac Bulur

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish Police Department's Counter-Terrorism Unit team on Friday arrested a former prosecutor in the capital, a security source said.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had issued an arrest warrant for Ferhat Sarikaya, and he was arrested at his home in Cankaya district, the source said, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Turkey's Council of Judges and Prosecutors dismissed the former prosecutor on Thursday together with two judges — Koksal Celik and Cetin Sonmez — who released key Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) suspect Adil Oksuz.

The judges had released Oksuz, a key suspect in the 2016 defeated coup attempt, after he was arrested near Akinci air force base in Ankara on July 16.

Later, Oksuz disappeared and witnesses say he fled the country and spent some time in Germany.

Oksuz, a theology professor, is alleged to be the “imam” of FETO members in the air force and was a key link between U.S.-based FETO leader Fetullah Gulen and coup plotters in Turkey.

Oksuz is accused of masterminding the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey — which martyred 251 people and injured some 2,200.

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

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