Nearly 50 FETO suspects arrested in Turkey

By Omer Sut, Eren Bozkurt and Ekber Turkoglu

IZMIR/ADANA/TOKAT, Turkey

Police detained 49 suspects across Turkey for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, according to a judicial source on Thursday.

Twelve out of 19 suspects sought by arrest warrants were detained in the western provinces of Izmir and Canakkale, in the capital Ankara, and in the eastern province of Van, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Separately, in southern Adana province 22 suspects, including serving army personnel, were rounded up by police for their alleged links to FETO.

In the central province of Tokat, 14 former police officers and one teacher were arrested for being FETO members.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, 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.