Turkish police arrest 43 FETO suspects

By Gokhan Yilmaz, Ekber Turkoglu, and Turan Kazak

ZONGULDAK / TOKAT / AKSARAY, Turkey (AA) - At least 43 people were arrested on Wednesday over alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind last year’s defeated coup attempt, according to a judicial source.

The suspects were arrested during counter-terror operations in 12 provinces including the capital Ankara as well as Istanbul, Bursa and Konya, said the source, who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Two on-duty soldiers were among the 17 arrested over alleged links to FETO in an operation based in Turkey’s northern Black Sea coastal city of Zonguldak, while three suspects were reportedly still being sought.

Also, nine people in the central province of Tokat were arrested for using FETO’s encrypted smartphone software ByLock.

In a central Aksaray-based operation across four provinces, 17 others, including nine dismissed teachers and a soldier, were arrested for having links to the organization, while two suspects remain on the loose.

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.

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.