Turkey: Arrest warrants out for above 200 FETO suspects

ANKARA

Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 214 people with suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, a judicial source said Tuesday.

Arrest warrants were issued for the suspects as part of a probe for 140 suspects into the terror group's clandestine network in the Turkish Armed Forces, a statement by the prosecutors in the capital Ankara said.

Among the suspects, who were found to have communicated with FETO’s “covert imams” -- a senior FETO member -- via pay phones, were 41 on active-duty soldiers in the Land, Air and Naval Forces, the statement added.

Separately, Istanbul prosecutors issued arrest warrant for 74 more suspects with alleged links to FETO, judicial sources said.

Security forces carried out operations in 18 provinces for 92 different addresses.

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 Erdogan Cagatay Zontur