Turkey issues arrest warrants for 56 FETO suspects

By Baris Kilic, Serdar Acil and Burak Akay

ANKARA/CANAKKALE (AA) - Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued arrest warrants against 56 suspects linked to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

The Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Ankara issued arrest warrants for 27 people for using ByLock, an encrypted smartphone messaging app used by FETO members before and during the defeated coup.

Four of the suspects have been arrested by security forces.

Another arrest warrant was also issued by the same prosecutor’s office against six employees of the Army Aviation Command for their suspected links to the terror group.

In northwestern province of Canakkale, prosecutors demanded the arrest of 26 military officers including two colonels, one lieutenant colonel, one major, six captains, 13 first lieutenants and three lieutenants for their alleged links to FETO.

Three of the suspects were previously sacked while 23 of them are on-duty soldiers.

Meanwhile, Turkish security forces in northern Tokat province captured 10 suspected FETO members, including on-duty soldiers, under another investigation run by the Tokat Public Prosecutor’s office.

The office had demanded detention of 13 suspects, including 12 on-duty soldiers and one civilian. Police are searching for the remaining three suspects.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 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.