Turkey issues arrest warrants for 69 FETO suspects

By Recep Bilek and Mustafa Yilmaz

BURSA/SAMSUN, Turkey

Turkish prosecutors on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for 69 people for their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the July 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in the northern Samsun province issued arrest warrants for 21 suspects, which include 13 on-duty soldiers, for allegedly communicating with "covert imams" of the terror group.

Police squads conducted simultaneous operations in 14 provinces including Samsun to nab the suspects, who were accused of communicating with other suspected FETO members over pay-phones and land-line telephones.

So far, 15 suspects, including 13 on-duty soldiers, were arrested in the simultaneous counter-terror operations across Turkey. Police continue operations to nab the other suspects.

Another 48 suspects, including 10 police officers and two soldiers who were allegedly using the terror group’s encrypted messaging application ByLock, are also sought by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in the northwestern Bursa province, another source said.

In simultaneous operations across the province, 28 suspects out of 48 -- sought with warrants -- were arrested. Operation is underway to nab the other suspects.

The 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.

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.