Turkey: Arrest sought for ex-prosecutors over graft probe

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court has ordered the arrest of three former prosecutors who were dismissed for misconduct over their alleged involvement in a 2013 anti-graft probe targeting Turkey's senior government officials.

The court's decision came several hours after Bakirkoy Chief Public Prosecutor's office asked Bakirkoy 2nd High Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for former prosecutors Zekeriya Oz, Celal Kara, and Mehmet Yuzgec, who are accused of "forming an organization to commit crime" and "attempting to overthrow the government by use of force".

Istanbul police have found out that Oz and Kara had left Turkey for Georgia early Monday just 10 minutes apart. 

A search was underway to find Yuzgec, police have said. 

In December, 2014, the three prosecutors were suspended in an investigation into their alleged role in the anti-graft probe against several high-profile figures, including the sons of three former government ministers and leading Turkish businessmen.

The government had denounced the probe as a "dirty plot" constructed by the U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen’s movement and his alleged "parallel state" -- a purported group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials embedded in the country's institutions, including the judiciary and police, who are allegedly trying to undermine the Turkish government.

The three were dismissed in May, 2015 in accordance with Article 69 of the Judges and Prosecutors' Law No. 2802, which states that judges and prosecutors would be dismissed from duty if their acts damaged the honor of their profession, and of the reputation of their public post.