Turkey: Police arrest 81 for suspected FETO links

ANKARA

A total of 81 people in Turkey were arrested on Tuesday on suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind a deadly 2016 coup attempt in the country.

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued arrest warrants for 94 suspects on charges of using the terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app, ByLock, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

Police arrested 67 suspects as operations continue to arrest an additional 27, the statement added.

Separately, prosecutors in Ankara also issued arrest warrants for 18 former army staff who were dismissed after the defeated coup attempt, amid a probe investigating communications within the terror group, according to a statement by the top prosecutor’s office.

The operations spanned six provinces so far, and caught 14 of the suspects, the statement added.

Prosecutors in Ankara also issued arrest warrants for 17 gendarmerie personnel including eight on duty for having communication through pay phone with other members of the organization, according to a statement by the prosecutor’s office.

The operations are ongoing in five provinces to arrest other suspects.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey 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 Gozde Bayar