Detention warrants out for 35 FETÖ-linked suspects, including colonels
ANKARA – Anadolu Agency
Prosecutors on April 18 issued detention warrants for 35 people over suspected links to what the authorities call the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).
The 10 of the wanted suspects are allegedly FETÖ’s “covert imams” in the Naval Forces Command, according to a statement issued by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara.
Police have so far detained nine suspects during simultaneous raids across the city, the statement said, adding that the operations are continuing to find the remaining suspect.
Ankara prosecutors also issued detention warrants for 25 more people, including 16 colonels and nine lieutenant colonels, as part of the probe into FETÖ-linked soldiers in Air Forces Commands.
Later, the police detained 18 suspects in eight different provinces, including the capital, the office said in another statement.
The suspects, including dismissed and suspended soldiers, are accused of using the ByLock smart phone app which was used by FETÖ members during the defeated coup.
Separately, a total of 26 former soldiers, including ex-generals, were sentenced to aggravated life sentences on April 17, while four former teachers got prison time for their alleged involvement in the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, according to judicial sources.
Ex-judge gets 10 years in jail over alleged FETÖ links
Meanwhile, a former top Turkish jurist was sentenced to 10 years in jail for being a member of FETÖ, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on April 17.
At the 21st Heavy Penal Court in the capital Ankara, the judge also ordered the continued detention of Mehmet Oğuz Kaya, former secretary-general of the Constitutional Court, said the source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
According to the Turkish government, FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and the judiciary.
