The arrests were made following raids across nine Turkish provinces as part of investigations in Ergenekon, a supposed high-level, clandestine conspiracy to destabilise the Turkish government.

Necati Aydin, Ugur Yuksel and German citizen Tilman Geske were found on April 18, 2007, at Zirve Publishing in Malatya with their hands and legs bound and their throats cut. All three men were members of the Malatya Kurtulus Church.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the murders are believed to have been formulated under Ergenekon’s “Cage Action Plan”, a scheme allegedly devised by military officers seeking to undermine the government and facilitate a military take-over through acts of terror, including assassinations of members of Turkey’s minority communities.

Other murders linked to the Cage Action Plan are said to include those of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 and of Catholic Priest Father Andrea Santoro in 2006.

The latest arrests have been of individuals suspected of masterminding and inciting the Malatya murders. Those detained include a university theology lecturer, a non-commissioned officer from the Siirt Provincial Gendarmerie Command, and the retired colonel who commanded Malatya’s Provincial Gendarmerie Brigade at the time of the murders.

According to Turkish media reports, the ongoing trial of five other suspects in the Malatya murders is now expected to be merged with the Ergenekon case.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), said: “CSW has continually requested a more in-depth investigation into the Malatya murders and the possibility of links to other attacks on non-Muslims in Turkey.

"We therefore welcome the recent arrests, and once again urge the Turkish authorities to ensure that the case continues to proceed without prejudice until justice is done.”