Nearly 5,000 expelled from universities over FETO links

ANKARA

The head of Turkey's Council of Higher Education has announced that nearly 5,000 people had been expelled from universities for being linked to the terrorist group FETO.

Answering journalists' questions at Anadolu Agency's Editors' Desk on Thursday, Yekta Sarac said a total of 3,850 academics and 947 administrative personnel were among the dismissed.

"Some applied to return to duty and 16 of them were reinstated," Sarac said.

Led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, FETO is accused of orchestrating the July 15 coup plot in Turkey as well as being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

The July 15 defeated coup left 248 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.