Turkey:Azerbaijani businessman remanded over FETO links

By Muhammed Enes Can and Halil Demir

ISTANBUL (AA) - A businessman of Azerbaijani origin was remanded into custody by an Istanbul court on Tuesday for having links with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), according to judicial sources.

Mubariz Mansimov Gurbanoglu and his company's director Nuray Nurcihan Perker were detained by financial crimes police team as part of an investigation carried out by prosecutors in Istanbul.

Following the interrogation, Gurbanoglu and Perker were referred to the court for arrest.

The court ruled to arrest the businessman for being linked to FETO, the group responsible for 2016's failed coup in Turkey.

Perker, meanwhile, was released on bail.

Earlier, an Istanbul penal court issued a search and detention warrant for the suspects under the investigation launched on charges of "membership of an armed terrorist organization."

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

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