UPDATE 2 - Turkey: Former top judiciary official arrested

UPDATES WITH NEW ARRESTS

By Kemal Karadag, Sertac Bulur, Muhammed Kaygin and Asena Akcay

ANKARA (AA) - The former secretary general of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) was arrested Thursday in western Turkey over alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

According to information obtained by Anadolu Agency, Mehmet Kaya, who was a fugitive, was arrested in Canakkale, a northwestern province of Turkey where he was hiding, as part of an investigation into FETO.

The arrest came during a police operation targeting 10 separate locations in Canakkale following a decision from the provincial chief prosecutor's office.

During the same operation, dubbed "absence houses", a name given to hideouts of secret FETO members, 20 others were also detained.

Separately, 11 employees of Ankara-based Gazi University, including those who had been dismissed, were held over suspected links to FETO following arrest

warrants issued for 17 university personnel early Thursday.

In the central province of Cankiri, 10 current and one retired military officers were arrested for allegedly contacting those in FETO’s private network through payphones.

Separately, eight suspects were arrested in anti-terror operations against FETO's military structure.

Police carried out operations based in Black Sea province of Trabzon as well as Istanbul, Ankara, Kocaeli, Erzincan, Hatay, Adana, and Konya.