A Turkish court on Tuesday arrested Brig. Gen. Özkan Edip Akgülay, who was in charge of all fighter jets in the Turkish Air Forces, as part of an investigation into the faith-based Gülen movement, the Diken news website reported.
Akgülay was detained three day ago in Eskişehir and brought to Diyarbakır province.
He is one of the suspects in an investigation launched by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which accuses Akgülay of using pay phones to maintain his affiliation with the movement.
Turkey accuses the Gülen network of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt, although it strongly denies any involvement.
He was promoted from colonel to brigadier general in 2017 and assigned as commander of the Joint Air Operations Center, which became the command base for all Turkish fighter jets after the air bases in Diyarbakır were closed in the aftermath of the failed coup.
Turkey has dismissed over 5,000 soldiers, including generals, since the abortive putsch.