Turkey seeks 80 with warrants for suspected FETO ties

IZMIR/KAYSERI/KONYA, Turkey

Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 80 suspects nationwide over their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, judicial sources said on Wednesday.

Prosecutors in the Aegean Izmir province issued the warrants for 20 suspects -- including police officers -- on charges of using terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app ByLock, said a source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Police raids were launched simultaneously in four provinces to apprehend the suspects, the source added.

In the central province of Kayseri, prosecutors issued warrants for 41 people over their alleged links to FETO, according to judicial sources.

In Konya, central Turkey, prosecutors demanded the arrest of 19 FETO suspects, including active-duty soldiers, after they were found to have communicated with other FETO members via pay phone.

Operations were launched in 44 provinces to apprehend the suspects. So far 11 people were arrested.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on 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.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz and Havva Kara Aydin