Turkish police arrest 58 alleged FETO supporters

By Sibel Ugurlu

ANKARA

Police arrested 58 people across Turkey on Thursday over suspected links to the group behind last year’s attempted coup, security officials said.

Fourteen were arrested in raids across seven provinces in an operation coordinated by police in the Black Sea province of Ordu, an official said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

In the eastern province of Van and the southern province of Gaziantep, 21 were arrested.

Separately, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 23 people, including four current staff at the capital’s Hacettepe University.

The others were former personnel dismissed after the July 15 attempted coup, another official said. Seven were arrested at addresses across Turkey.

Some suspects are accused of using the ByLock encrypted messaging app used by supporters of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization that orchestrated the coup attempt, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara has accused FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.