52 FETO-linked suspects arrested across Turkey

By Ahmet Bayram, Emrah Yasar, Gokhan Yilmaz, Haluk Satir, Ilyas Kacar, Seyit Ahmet Eksik, and Sezgin Pancar

ANKARA (AA) - At least 27 suspects on Friday were arrested across Turkey by security forces for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, according to security sources.

Security forces rounded up 13 suspects in an Istanbul-based operation carried out across ten provinces, said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The suspects were arrested for using ByLock, an encrypted smartphone messaging app used by FETO members before and during the defeated coup.

Five police officers were arrested in a separate operation in central Eskisehir province on terror charges.

Additionally, security forces arrested five suspects, including one soldier, in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, according to a statement released by provincial police department.

In the Aegean province of Manisa, police arrested four suspects for using ByLock upon the decision of the provincial court.

In northwestern Zonguldak province, security forces arrested 13 ByLock users, seizing their personal computers and other documents as part of the raids.

Separately, judicial sources stated that 17 suspects were arrested in southern Mersin province. One of the suspects was found to have hidden a hard drive within their home.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 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.