Nearly 50 FETÖ suspects detained in operations across Turkey
KASTAMONU/ESKİŞEHİR
Forty-eight suspects were detained in operations on April 26 targeting the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Twenty-two suspects were apprehended in operations centered in the Black Sea province of Kastamonu, including businesspeople and former staffers of Bank Asya, which has been linked to FETÖ, said sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
In a separate operation, five other FETÖ suspects were detained by police in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri over alleged use of the encrypted smartphone apps linked to the group such as ByLock, Eagle, and Kakao.
A former staffer of the shuttered Gülen-linked Zaman daily based in the Mediterranean province of Antalya was also detained for using ByLock.
The suspect was arrested in the western province of Manisa.
Another suspect believed to have FETÖ contacts was detained in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ.
Separately, 19 suspects, including 15 active officers, were detained in simultaneous operations based in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir, police sources said.
Followers of Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the Gülen movement referred to by the acronym FETÖ by Turkish authorities, were once close allies of the Turkish government. The movement is widely believed to have carried out the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, which left 250 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.
