Reports prepared as part of investigations into the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and suspect testimony have revealed key details about the group’s clandestine military network within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
Ten years after FETO’s failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, investigations have uncovered how the organization’s covert military structure operated.
According to statements included in investigation files, the group established a multilayered system that went beyond recruiting military cadets. It included identifying candidates, preparing them for entrance exams, manipulating interview processes, monitoring them during military education and tracking their activities after graduation.
A report prepared in 2020 by the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said FETO began infiltrating the TSK in 1977 by placing its members inside the institution.
The report said the organization spent more than four decades building its network within state institutions and society through evolving strategies.
It noted that after many members were exposed through disciplinary investigations in the 1980s and 1990s, the organization abandoned its earlier methods and shifted to the covert “confidential” structure it later used.
According to the report, military students dismissed through disciplinary proceedings later became senior figures within FETO’s clandestine military network because of their detailed knowledge of the armed forces.
The report also concluded that while some members of the clandestine structure participated in the July 15 coup attempt, others continued their activities secretly.
It said recruitment methods, organizational hierarchy, terminology, discipline, communication practices and operational tactics remained largely unchanged from 1977 until recent years.
Exam cheating, interview manipulation
Suspect testimony also detailed how FETO manipulated military school entrance examinations.
A suspect identified as S.T., described as a deputy manager within the organization, said recruits were told that cheating on exams was justified because they were serving religion.
He said members were told: “This is a war, and deception is permissible in war.”
S.T. said the organization referred to providing stolen exam questions to members as “teaching the conquest” and required recruits to take an oath before receiving the questions.
According to testimony, candidates were also instructed to conceal their religious identity during military school interviews by wearing jeans, styling their hair with gel, memorizing popular songs and deliberately giving superficial answers to questions about religion.
A suspect identified as M.O.T. said he had been instructed to dress casually, behave like a leftist during interviews and study summaries of “Of Mice and Men” in case he was asked about books.
Coding system, intimidation
Witness testimony also indicated that FETO infiltrated military interview boards and used coded applicant numbers to identify members of the organization.
A cooperating witness identified as E.K. said commission members used numerical patterns in candidate identification numbers to distinguish recruits affiliated with the organization from other applicants.
Statements also described how students who entered military schools on merit but had no ties to FETO were subjected to systematic harassment through a practice known as the “Shock Squad.”
According to a victim identified as N.P.G., instructors linked to the organization subjected targeted students to excessive physical punishment and pressured them to leave military schools.
Fake denunciations, covert software
A suspect identified as A.C.E. described how individuals known within the organization as “Bilgin” carried out smear campaigns against military personnel.
He said these members, who were highly skilled in computing, kept large numbers of postage stamps at home and mailed anonymous false denunciation letters while also conducting online defamation campaigns.
According to his testimony, people with no connection to FETO were falsely reported as members of the organization, particularly after Dec. 17-25, 2013, in what the group internally referred to as “dilution.”
He also said the organization maintained an illegal digital archive known as “BIM,” which stored detailed personal information on individuals, including family life, political views, personal habits and religious tendencies.
Investigators also found that FETO developed its own operating systems and encryption software to avoid leaving digital traces.
A Linux-based platform known as “Matrix,” which operated exclusively from USB drives, allowed members to use computers without accessing the main operating system.
A cooperating witness identified as S.A. said the system was designed to leave no digital evidence on host computers, allowing members to communicate and store information without detection.
