Nine suspects, including catering firm head, sent to court with arrest demand in Manisa food poisoning case

MANİSA

Nine suspects, including the chair of the catering firm, were referred to court with an arrest demand as part of the case into the food poisoning at a military barracks in the Aegean province of Manisa on June 21, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Previously, some 25 out of 40 suspects were forwarded to the courthouse as part of an investigation that began after 731 soldiers in the Manisa First Infantry Training Brigade Command were hospitalized late on June 17, affected by food poisoning. Early on June 21, the number of detainees rose to 40. 

Sixteen of the suspects were released and nine of them, including the chair of Rota Incorporated Company (Rota Yemekçilik), were referred to the court with arrest demand.

The chair of Rota Incorporated Company, not named by the authorities, was detained in Ankara as part of an investigation conducted by the province’s chief prosecutor’s office. 

Cooks and food engineers were reportedly among the nine suspects who were referred to court.     

On June 19, Manisa Chief Prosecutor Akif Celalettin Şimşek said that although the number of detentions stood at 24 there could be more detentions in connection to the incident in the coming days.

The Rota Incorporated Company, whose contract with the military barracks was cancelled after the mass food poisoning incident on June 20, was also accused of another food-poisoning incident in 2016 at the Finance Ministry.

This was reported to be the second of such an incident at the same military barrack after more than 1,000 soldiers were affected by a similar infection on May 23, resulting in the death of one soldier.

All soldiers who were under treatment in the hospital have been discharged, the Manisa Governor’s Office stated on June 20.