ANKARA
The office of Istanbul's chief public prosecutor rejected Thursday the penal court's ruling to release eight people who were arrested in what the government calls the "parallel state" operation.
Prosecutor Hasan Yilmaz submitted a petition of objection to the court asking for the individuals to be re-arrested.
Among the released was Ekrem Dumanli, editor-in-chief of the daily Zaman newspaper. He was released on the condition that he does not travel outside Turkey.
"The ban on leaving the country will be insufficient for the investigation," the prosecutor's office said in the petition.
Last week, the court ordered the arrest of four individuals after listening to their testimony, including Hidayet Karaca, chairman of the Samanyolu Media Group.
Karaca was charged with "managing a terrorist organization," while three others were charged with "membership in a terrorist organization."
On Dec. 14, a police operation was launched against senior media figures and police officers in 13 provinces across Turkey for allegedly being affiliated with what the government describes as the "parallel state," an alleged group of bureaucrats embedded in the country's institutions, including the judiciary and the police.
More than 20 suspects were taken into custody, alleged to be linked with U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen and his so-called Gulen movement.
In December 2013, an anti-graft probe targeted several high-profile figures, including the sons of three former government ministers and leading Turkish businessmen.
The government denounced the probe as a "dirty plot" constructed by a "parallel state."
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