Turkey: Navy chief's bodyguard remanded over FETO links

By Muhammed Enes Can, Sergen Sezgin, Ugur Ulu and Durmus Genc

ANKARA (AA) - One of the bodyguards of Turkish Commander of the Naval Forces Vice-Admiral Adnan Ozbal was remanded in custody on Thursday over alleged terror links, judicial sources said.

The sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media said sergeant Riza Asal was arrested in Istanbul as part of an investigation on Fetullah Terrorist Organization's (FETO) structure in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

He was produced in a court which remanded him into custody.

Asal was part of the security team for Ozbal, the sources added.

Separately, as part of an investigation in Istanbul 41 suspects, including some on-duty soldiers, were arrested for being part of the FETO structure in the Turkish Armed Forces and communicating with other FETO members using pay-phones, the sources said.

They appeared in a court which ordered 39 suspects to be remanded into custody.

Last week, 42 other suspects were also remanded into custody as part of the investigation.

Also on Thursday, a suspect in western Bursa province and another in western Mugla province were remanded in custody over links to FETO, the sources said.

The sources added that both suspects are ByLock app users, which is an encrypted smartphone messaging application used by coup plotters during and after the July 2016 coup attempt.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt 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.