54 FETO-linked suspects arrested in Turkey

By Muzahim Zahid Tuzun, Sahin Oktay, Ismail Sen and Ferdi Uzun

ANKARA, Turkey

More than 50 people have been arrested across Turkey on Tuesday for suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind last year’s defeated coup, according to security officials.

Seven FETO suspects -- including a university student, a financial advisor and former police officers -- were arrested during simultaneous operations in the central Kayseri and northwestern Edirne provinces of Turkey.

Meanwhile, in Kayseri province, four more people were arrested after the Chief Public Prosecutors Office issued arrest warrants for 16 people.

The suspects including students and military personnel were all believed to have used an encrypted smartphone messaging app which was used by FETO -- ByLock. 

They are suspected of having accounts at Bank Asya, a lender affiliated with FETO which recently declared bankruptcy.

In the northwestern Kocaeli province, police arrested another 10 suspects, who were also believed of using ByLock.

In an the eastern Elazig province-based operation, 11 others were arrested according to another source.

In another operation targeting FETO’s secret military structure, 22 suspects, including on-duty soldiers, were arrested across 17 provinces.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

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