By Serdar Acil and Baris Kilic
ANKARA (AA) - Turkish prosecutors on Monday issued arrest warrants for 32 ex-civil servants at the country's Health Ministry for their links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup.
The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in capital Ankara has issued arrest warrants for the 32 former public employees for using ByLock, an encrypted smartphone messaging app used by FETO members.
Police have rounded up 18 of the suspects in simultaneous operations across Turkey. They will be taken to the Ankara police headquarters.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on 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.