Turkey: Arrest warrants for 189 judges, prosecutors

By Baris Kilic and Zafer Fatih Beyaz

ANKARA (AA) – The Ankara public prosecutor's office on Friday issued arrest warrants for 189 judges and prosecutors as part of a probe into the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), a judicial source said.

According to the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the judges and prosecutors -- 30 of them in Istanbul -- are suspected of being linked to FETO, which the government has said was behind the attempted takeover, which martyred 241 people and wounded nearly 2,200 others on July 15.

The use of an encrypted messaging service, ByLock, has been at the center of the probe into suspected FETO members.

ByLock is said to have been used by members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Turkey accuses FETO, which is led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, of organizing the defeated coup as well as a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

More than 3,400 FETO-linked judges and prosecutors have so far been discharged by the board following the coup attempt.