13 April 2018•Update: 13 April 2018
By Muhammed Enes Can and Murat Kaya
ISTANBUL
At least 95 people were arrested in Turkey over their links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said Friday.
Eighteen suspects from the Turkish navy were arrested over suspected links to FETO, according to a judicial source.
The 18 are among 70 officers, ex-officers, and civilian workers and officials sought by warrants, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Istanbul prosecutors issued the warrants after examining digital documents seized from a suspect codenamed "Engin."
The warrants include 15 naval officers, including 11 on-duty, as well as civilian officials and teachers, the source said.
A probe based on the digital documents is ongoing.
Also on Friday, 77 suspects including senior on-duty soldiers were arrested across Turkey.
Eight suspects were held in Mugla, two in Eskisehir, nine in Bursa, 11 in Konya, three in Kayseri, two in Balikesir, 20 in Bayburt, 18 in Malatya and three in Tekirdag.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey, which left 250 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.
A separate probe launched by Istanbul prosecutors, also based on the Engin documents, found that FETO members used a cellphone app offering 2048 -- a non-copyrighted game offered in many versions -- as a way to send encoded messages. The probe is continuing.
