Turkey: 28 arrested in search for Twitter whistleblower

By Halil Demir

ANKARA

Twenty-eight suspects were arrested on Friday on suspicion of being involved with a prominent anonymous Twitter user believed to be linked to the FETO terrorist organization, frequently referred to in Turkey as the "parallel state", according to a local source.

The local official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Istanbul police department’s organized crimes bureau launched an operation aimed at determining the identity of the anonymous online whistleblower who goes by the name of Fuat Avni.

Twenty-eight suspects were detained in operations carried out in 10 provinces of the country, including the capital Ankara, Istanbul, Van, Mersin, Kocaeli, Izmir and Rize.

Meanwhile, the heads of a number of Turkish language websites have been accused of having FETO links, including Rota Haber, Subuo Haber, Aktif Haber, Haberdar and Merkur Haber.

*Anadolu Agency correspondent Sibel Ugurlu contributed to the report from Ankara.