Operations launched to detain 110 FETÖ suspects

ISTANBUL

Turkish authorities issued detention warrants on Oct. 20 for 110 people from a company over alleged links to the U.S.-based Fethullah Gülen, widely believed to have orchestrated last year’s coup attempt.

The Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Istanbul issued an arrest warrant for 102 suspects under an investigation against the FETÖ-led Kaynak Holding.

Fifty-three of them were detained, according to the statement from the prosecutor's office.

It said the police operation to detain the suspects, who were managers, partners and employees of the publishing group Kaynak Holding and related companies, was focused on Istanbul but spread across 24 provinces.

The suspects were accused of using the ByLock smartphone messaging app, an encrypted software used by FETÖ members before and during a deadly coup attempt last year, said sources on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The app is believed to have been cracked by Turkish security agencies, allowing them to identify tens of thousands of FETÖ supporters.

Following the warrant, security forces launched an operation in 24 provinces and have detained many suspects so far, said the sources.

In a separate operation centered in Ankara, 38 former employees from schools owned by the Gülen network were detained on Oct. 20, according to Turkish media.

The schools were closed by a decree after the failed coup.The Ankara police also launched an operation in seven provinces and detained some of the suspects.

Operations are still underway to detain the remaining suspects, according to the sources.

Meanwhile, the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s office sent a summary of proceedings to the Supreme Court of Appeals against five former members of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors.

The prosecutor requested the court to open a trial against alleged senior FETÖ members; Kerim Tosun, Mustafa Kemal Özçelik, Saban Işık, Mahmut Şen and Ahmet Berberoğlu.

The suspects were demanded up to 22 years and six months in jail.