Turkish court remands over 100 active-duty personnel

ISTANBUL

A Turkish court on Wednesday remanded in custody more than 100 active-duty personnel over their links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, according to a judicial source.

The move came after prosecutors in Istanbul referred 138 suspects, including members of the land, air, navy, gendarmerie and coast guard forces, to the court, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Some 111 of them were remanded for being members of an armed terrorist group, while the remaining 27 were released under judicial control.

Last week, the prosecutors issued warrants for 223 on-duty personnel from the land, air, navy, gendarmerie and coast guard forces.

While police teams detained 168 suspects during operations across Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the court released 30 of them and said the remaining 138 would appear before the court on charges of being members of an armed terrorist group.

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.

Turkey 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