Ex-AK Party deputy arrested in Gulen probe in Ankara

ANKARA

Three people, including ex-Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy Ilhan Isbilen were arrested in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday in connection with a probe into the Gulen terror group, judicial sources said.

The suspects were detained earlier on Dec. 11 in a major operation across Turkey against the group.

The suspects are all alleged to be part of a “parallel state” conspiracy headed by Fetullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Islamic preacher who runs a network of schools and commercial enterprises in Turkey and around the world.

The parallel state, known also by the initials FETO/PDY, is supposedly a clandestine group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials, allegedly embedded in the country’s institutions, including the judiciary and the police.

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