Over 48,000 FETÖ suspects arrested across Turkey in 2017: Ministry
ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency
A total of 48,305 people were arrested across Turkey in 2017 for suspected links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the group behind the July 15, 2016 defeated coup, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Jan. 9.
“The number of those detained is nearly three times higher,” Soylu told a security meeting in Istanbul.
“Even these figures are not enough to reveal the severity of the issue,” Soylu said.
He said the necessity and burden of establishing the country’s security had increased following the coup attempt.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader, Fetullah Gülen, are widely believed to have orchestrated the July 15, 2016 coup attempt which left 250 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.
