Ex-army officer detained over FETÖ links

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

The counter-terrorism police detained an ex-soldier in Turkey on Jan. 16 over his links to the FETÖ, the terror group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt.

Former Lt. Gen. Metin İyidil was detained in the capital Ankara after a local court issued an arrest warrant over the prosecutors’ demand.

Earlier, İyidil, former commander of the Land Forces Training and Doctrine Command (EDOK), had been slapped with aggravated life sentence over the charge of trying to overthrow Turkey’s constitutional order through violence as part of the coup attempt perpetrated by FETO.

However, he was later acquitted and set free after a local court revoked the previous court order upon İyidil’s appeal.

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