Ankara prosecutor issues warrants on 23 FETO suspects

By Zafer Fatih Beyaz

ANKARA (AA) - Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday issued arrest warrants for 23 people as part of an investigation against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind last year’s defeated coup in Turkey.

According to a judicial source who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, four of the suspects are personnel of Ankara-based Hacettepe University.

The others are former personnel dismissed from the university after the defeated coup attempt on July 15 last year, the source said, adding that the police unit conducting the operations over the warrants had arrested seven suspects across Turkey, among them two doctors.

Some of the detained suspects are accused of being users of ByLock, an encrypted smartphone messaging app used by FETO members before and during the defeated coup.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen are accused of having orchestrated the defeated coup attempt, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara 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.