Turkey: Defunct Prime Ministry staff nabbed for FETO-ties

ANKARA

Turkish police arrested 18 staff of now defunct Prime Minister’s Office over suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said Wednesday.

The suspects were arrested in the capital Ankara with the simultaneous raids of the anti-terror police.

They were among 27 former employees of the office who were accused of operating for the terror group, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

All the suspects were dismissed from their positions following the 2016 defeated coup.

Police continue the hunt for the remaining suspects.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on 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 Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA

The suspects were arrested in the capital Ankara with the simultaneous raids of the anti-terror police.

All the suspects were dismissed from their positions following the 2016 defeated coup.

Police continue the hunt for the remaining suspects.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on 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 Jeyhun Aliyev