Turkey Arrests 17 over Syria Arms Interception
Local Editor
A Turkish court on Friday placed under arrest pending trial 17 soldiers charged in a hugely controversial case over the interception last year of a consignment that contained arms bound for Syria extremists.
The 17 have been charged with membership of a terrorist organization and working on behalf of the "parallel state", common official shorthand for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's arch enemy the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.
A total of 32 soldiers detained after prosecutors issued warrants at the weekend had appeared before the Istanbul court but 15 were allowed to go free, 10 of them under judicial supervision.
A date for the trial has yet to be set.
In January last year, Turkish security forces stopped and seized seven trucks near the Syrian border that were suspected of seeking to smuggle weapons into Syria.
A series of documents were then leaked on the Internet indicating that the seized trucks were actually National Intelligence Agency [MIT] vehicles delivering weapons to Syrian extremists.
As well as membership of a terror group and working for the parallel state, they have been charged with illegal eavesdropping, forging illegal documents and working to overthrow the government.
The controversy erupted on January 19, 2014 when Turkish forces stopped trucks bound for Syria suspected to have been loaded with weapons. But they then found MIT personnel were on board.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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