Over 100 FETO suspects held in exam irregularities bid

ANKARA

At least 111 suspects from Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) have been arrested on Monday as part of an investigation into irregularities in staff recruitment exams for the Foreign Ministry.

According to the prosecutor’s office in capital Ankara, arrest warrants were issued for 249 suspects as part of the investigation which let FETO members take posts in the ministry via exams held in the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The suspects are sought for being member of a terror organization, aggravated fraud, and forgery with terror aims.

A search operation has been launched in 42 provinces, the office added.

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.

*Writing by Sena Guler