Turkish navy chief’s bodyguard arrested over FETÖ links 

ANKARA

A bodyguard of Turkish Commander of the Naval Forces Vice-Admiral Adnan Özbal was arrested on March 1 over alleged terror links, state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing judicial sources. 

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said Sergeant Rıza Asal was arrested in Istanbul as part of an investigation into the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) structure in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). 

He was produced in a court which remanded him into custody. 

Asal was part of the security detail for Özbal, the sources added. 

Separately, as part of an investigation in Istanbul, 41 suspects, including some on-duty soldiers, were arrested for being part of the FETÖ structure in the Turkish Armed Forces and communicating with other FETÖ members using payphones, the sources said.  

They appeared in a court which ordered 39 suspects to be remanded into custody. 

Last week, 42 other suspects were also remanded into custody as part of the investigation. 

Also on March 1, a suspect in the western Bursa province and another in the western Muğla province were remanded in custody over links to FETÖ, the sources said. 

The sources added that both suspects were ByLock app users, referring to an encrypted smartphone messaging application widely used by the Gülen network during and after the July 2016 coup attempt. 

FETÖ, under the leadership of the U.S.-based Fethullah Gülen, is believed to have orchestrated the coup attempt, which killed 250 people and injured nearly 2,200.

Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the government through the infiltration of institutions, particularly the military, the police and the judiciary.