Turkey: Over 100 businesspeople held in FETO swoops

By Tevfik Isik and Omer Sut

KAYSERI, Turkey

Over a hundred businesspeople were taken into custody on Wednesday as part of a nationwide investigation into the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), judicial sources have told Anadolu Agency.

The nationwide operation was carried out in 28 provinces, including Istanbul, Izmir and the capital, Ankara.

In Kayseri, central Turkey, 400 police officers searched suspects’ houses, workplaces and offices. In a simultaneous operation in Batman, southeastern Turkey, 800 officers were involved.

The total number of arrests was put at 112.

Meanwhile, in the coastal province of Izmir, 55 court officers were detained in an operation run by the local prosecutor.

Turkey's government has said the July 15 coup attempt, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO network.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the ‘parallel state’.