Türkiye arrests accomplice to primary suspect of FETÖ coup attempt
ISTANBUL
Turkish authorities have arrested three key suspects linked to the FETÖ terrorist organization, including one accused of aiding the escape of the primary suspect in the failed coup attempt in 2016.
Following an escape attempt at a police checkpoint in Istanbul's Beylikdüzü district, police arrested suspect Cihat Yıldız, who first hid and later helped Adil Öksüz, the main suspect in the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, to flee abroad.
Yıldız stayed with Öksüz for nearly a week at the residence where he was hiding in Üsküdar, and later assisted in his escape, security sources disclosed on Aug. 26
Öksüz was controversially released after his initial capture at a military base at the heart of the putsch bid a day after the failed coup. He is known to be a close aide to U.S-based FETÖ ringleader Fetullah Gülen and a key figure for the terror organization’s structure in the Turkish army. Öksüz was last seen on July 19, 2016, when he went to his father-in-law's house in the northwestern province of Sakarya.
The newly apprehended suspect, Yıldız, was responsible for the organization's so-called general directorship in the Air Force Academy and for overseeing organizational activities in the northern province of Amasya.
Yıldız, who had been a fugitive for eight years, was found to have used an application favored by FETÖ members for communication and to have an account in a bank linked to the organization.
The other suspect, Ahmet Hızal, who was detained alongside Yıldız, was identified as being responsible for military personnel who were members of the organization within the Air Force Command and was involved in the military's covert structure.
Hızal was one of the teachers expelled after the coup attempt due to ties with FETÖ.
The third suspect, Adem Bora, who was a major in the Air Force Command before being expelled in 2016, was charged with membership in the FETÖ/PDY armed terrorist organization. The suspect provided shelter and hiding places for fugitive members of the organization and was active in its current structure.
The court arrested all three suspects following the investigation.
