Over 90 FETO suspects arrested across Turkey

By Volkan Kasik

MALATYA, Turkey (AA) – Over 90 people have been arrested for their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), as part of counterterrorism operations across Turkey, police sources said on Thursday.

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, according to the Turkish government.

Simultaneous operations were conducted at 23 locations in Malatya, Ankara, Kayseri and Gaziantep provinces, a police source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

At least 15 people of different professions -- who are accused of having links to FETO -- were arrested, the source added.

As part of a separate probe into FETO/PDY conducted by the Tokat Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, 11 on-duty soldiers were arrested in the Ankara, Batman, Eskisehir, Kayseri, Kirklareli, Kilis, Konya and Sirnak provinces.

The suspects were brought to Tokat. Search for another on-duty soldier is ongoing.

Furthermore, raids based in the southern Antalya province saw 20 FETO suspects arrested for using the ByLock application, a police source said. The search for another five suspects is in progress.

The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in the central Konya province issued arrest warrants for 120 people over suspected links to FETO, a security source said.

Warrants came as part of an investigation based in Konya, which spread to 43 other provinces, against “secret imams” of FETO inside the military, who were identified by testimonies of former detainees.

Later, 34 of the suspects were arrested, according to a security source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Police also arrested a FETO suspect in Havran district of the western Balikesir province as part of a probe into FETO/PYD, a governorship said in a written statement on Thursday.

Another 14 FETO suspects were also arrested for their links to FETO in the northern Samsun province, a police source said.

Ankara 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.