Turkish prosecutors summon another US consulate employee

Turkish prosecutors have summoned a local employee working at the American consulate in Istanbul, days after the arrest of another staffer at the mission sparked a major crisis in relations, state media says.

The employee has been “invited by Istanbul prosecutors to give a statement,” the state-run Anadolu news agency says.

Turkish television, including the NTV private channel, says an earlier an arrest warrant had been issued for the employee. But this was not confirmed in the Anadolu report.

However, the employee’s wife and child, whose age was not given, have been detained in the Anatolian city of Amasya on suspicion of being key members of the group of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for last year’s failed coup.

They have been brought to Istanbul for questioning.

— AFP