Senior FETO-linked suspects referred to Istanbul court

By Murat Kaya and Mustafa Hatipoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Prosecutors have referred senior suspected members of Fetullah Terrorist Organization to an Istanbul court and sought their remand on charges of managing an armed terrorist organization and “international espionage.”

On April 10, Turkish intelligence officers brought the senior FETO members to Turkey following an anti-terror operation against the group in Libreville, capital of Gabon.

The suspects named Osman Ozpinar, Ibrahim Akbas and Adnan Demironal were referred to on-duty Istanbul Penal Court of Peace after their statement were recorded at Istanbul’s public prosecutor’s office.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated July 2015 defeated coup in Turkey, 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.