Turkey jails 3 senior diplomats over links with coup plot

Three former top Turkish diplomats were arrested Saturday on charges related to the recent failed coup attempt, Anadolu Agency reported.

Gurcan Balik once served as executive assistant to former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as well as foreign policy advisor to the former President Abdullah Gul from August 2013 to July 2014.

Ali Findik and Tuncay Babali are former ambassadors to Costa Rica and Canada, respectively, who had been removed from their posts due to links to the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which Turkey accuses, along with its leader, Fethullah Gulen, of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt.

The three suspects were sent to jail, pending trial after their testimonies in an Ankara court.

Meanwhile, four municipal mayors from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) were discharged from the party on Friday due to their ties with the Gulenist, as part of the investigation following the coup attempt, Daily Sabah reported.

Source : XINHUA