Turkish scholar's murder suspect remains under house arrest in Ukraine

A fugitive suspect in the murder of a Turkish scholar researching the FETÖ terror group will remain under house arrest, a Ukrainian court said on Jan. 22.

The Kiev Court of Appeals was evaluating the prosecutor's office's objection against keeping Nuri Gökhan Bozkır under house arrest.

After the prosecutor's office withdrew its objection, the case was dismissed and Bozkır, who was arrested in December, was ordered to be kept under house arrest.

Turkey expects Ukraine to extradite Bozkır, Turkey's justice minister said Dec. 25, 2019.

Necip Hablemitoğlu, known for his research and books on the FETÖ, was killed in 2002 in front of his house in Turkey's capital Ankara, but the murder was never solved.

In 2015, prosecutors in Ankara launched an investigation into FETÖ's involvement in unsolved murders in 2000-2013, including the killings of Behçet Oktay (2009), the head of Ankara police's special operations department, judge candidate Didem Yaylalı (2013), and high court judge Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin (2006).

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader, Fetullah Gülen, is accused of orchestrating the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.