Istanbul, Dec 25, (dpa/GNA) – Fenerbahçe president, Sadettin Saran, was released under judicial control on Thursday following his detention the previous evening as part of a narcotics investigation, state media reported.
Saran was taken into custody in Istanbul after prosecutors accused him of “procuring drugs,” “facilitating drug use,” and “drug use,” according to the state news agency Anadolu.
Following his testimony on Thursday, an Istanbul court ordered Saran to report to a police station twice a week to sign in. Anadolu said that Saran remains subject to an overseas travel ban imposed earlier in the investigation.
The probe has been active since the beginning of the month. After returning from abroad, Saran appeared before prosecutors on December 20 to provide a statement and was subsequently referred for forensic testing. A later forensic report indicated traces of narcotics in a sample of his hair, according to Anadolu.
Saran rejected the report results on social media.
Late Wednesday, Fenerbahçe issued a statement on social media platform X, calling for calm and cooperation with the authorities.
Ahead of his release on Thursday, fans gathered outside Istanbul’s high-security Çaglayan courthouse to chant slogans in solidarity with the club president.
GNA