55 FETO convicts sent to jail for police exam fraud

By Serdar Acil and Baris Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - More than 50 FETO convicts in capital Ankara on Wednesday were given jail terms ranging between a year and 10 years following a court case on police exam fraud, according to a judicial source.

A total of 62 defendants were tried in the case about leaking questions ahead of the Police Academy entrance exam in 2012.

Ankara’s 15th Heavy Penal Court handed down jail terms ranging from one year and six months to nine years and seven months to 55 FETO convicts on the charge of being members of an armed terror group.

The court also handed down up to three years and four months to 27 of the total convicts on the charge of committing fraud.

Seven other suspects in the case were released.

Separately, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara issued arrest warrants for 33 people as part of an investigation into FETO suspects running private teaching institutions at seven addresses.

The financial crimes unit of Ankara police had launched simultaneous operations across the capital to nab the suspects.

According to the government, the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.