The MİT officials, identified as Ş.D., S.B.İ. and K.Ü., were sent to a prison in Erzurum after being interrogated by prosecutors for eight-and-a-half hours.
Meanwhile, a few hours before the court’s decision to arrest the MİT officials, the intelligence organization posted a press announcement on its Web site denying claims that the prime minister and the undersecretary of MİT had been informed about the three MİT officials’ apprehension and had approved the imprisonment.
“The news stating that the ongoing investigation into three of our members working at the Erzincan Regional Directorate was approved and known of by the prime minister and the undersecretary of MİT do not reflect reality,” says the statement, which adds that the judicial process regarding MİT members is regulated by Article 26 of the law on the state’s intelligence services.
After a sizeable cache of ammunition, including hand grenades, was found on Oct. 27 in Erzincan’s dam, the Erzurum Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the apparent existence of a clandestine network in Erzincan in connection with Ergenekon. Two gendarmerie officers were arrested on Nov. 25 over their connections to Ergenekon and the secret ammunitions cache.
