Turkish President Abdullah Gül termed the latest developments on intelligence officials “unfortunate and saddening.”

The comment comes after an İstanbul prosecutor overseeing an investigation into a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) linked militant organization has asked the Ankara Prosecutor's Office to hear the testimony of National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan, while obtaining capture warrants for four other MİT officials.

İstanbul Specially Authorized Prosecutor Sadrettin Sarıkaya this week summoned MİT Undersecretary Fidan, his predecessor Emre Taner and MİT Deputy Undersecretary Afet Güneş to testify in the ongoing investigation into the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), which Turkish prosecutors say is a group that controls the PKK and other affiliated groups.

“Utmost attention should be paid when directing accusations at some [state] institutions when it concerns their duties. All these developments are truly unfortunate and saddening,” he said.

MİT appealed the prosecutor's move to summon Fidan to testify on Thursday, arguing the prosecutor's office should have asked permission from the prime minister, but prosecutor Sarıkaya rejected the appeal on Friday. The prosecutor also asked the Ankara Prosecutor's Office to hear Fidan's testimony and obtained capture warrants for Güneş, Taner and two other former MİT officials. The prosecutor requested capture warrants from the İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court on Friday and the court accepted the prosecutor's request.

The prosecutor's move spurred a debate over whether a prosecutor is authorized to prosecute Fidan, who might, along with four other MİT officers, face charges of collaborating with the KCK. The discussion concerns whether prosecutors looking to indict or even question Fidan might need special permission from the prime minister's office, which MİT is a part of.

In rejecting MİT's appeal, prosecutor Sarıkaya pointed to Article 250 of the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK), which says anyone accused of terrorism-related crimes loses any legal shields that they might normally have in the course of investigations regarding other crimes due to their position. This article adds that a person facing charges that fall under the scope of terrorist activities cannot benefit from any immunity, regardless of his or her rank.