722 suspects arrested over FETÖ link over past year

ISTANBUL / SAMSUN

Over the last year a total of 722 suspects have been arrested over alleged links to the terror group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, as part of an ongoing investigation of the group’s infiltration of the Turkish army, according to data compiled by state-run Anadolu Agency.

Prosecutors determined that suspected FETÖ members of the army and their civilian seniors -so-called “imams”- communicated via land lines or pay phones.

For the investigation, since Nov. 29, 2017, prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 989 soldiers, including 159 still wanted by Turkish authorities.

Among the arrested 523 were soldiers who are suspected members of FETÖ, according to the data.

Under the penitence law, a total of 307 soldiers who are reportedly FETÖ members were released on judicial control.

A total of 199 civilian suspects who reportedly led these soldiers were remanded in custody under the investigation.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 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 judiciary.

ISIL suspects detained

Meanwhile, five people were detained in northern Turkey on Oct. 10 over their suspected links to ISIL, according to a police source.

The suspects were apprehended in simultaneous operations conducted by special forces in the province of Samsun, said the source.

Security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to clear ISIL militants from Turkey.

More than 300 people lost their lives in ISIL-claimed attacks in Turkey, where the illegal organization has targeted civilians in suicide bomb, rocket, and gun attacks in recent years.