Over 30 FETO suspects arrested in Turkey

By Mustafa Yildirim, Seyhan Kirici and Ekber Turkoglu

IZMIR/BALIKESIR/TOKAT, Turkey (AA) - Police have detained 32 suspects across Turkey for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, according to a judicial source on Thursday.

Out of the total, 22 suspects were detained in Izmir, Isparta, Denizli, Istanbul, Hatay and capital Ankara, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

Separately, in northwestern Balikesir province, four suspects, including a so-called provincial imam, were rounded up by police for their alleged links to FETO.

In central Tokat province, six former Supreme Court judges and lawyers were arrested on the charge of being FETO members.

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.