By Baris Kilic
ANKARA (AA) - Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 37 school staffers, including teachers, over their alleged links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 coup attempt.
In a statement, Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said it has issued warrants for the managers and teachers working at private schools called “Akilli” [Smart in English] in the capital Ankara.
According to the statement, Idris Yurteri, owner of the private school, who were allegedly using the terror group’s encrypted messaging application ByLock, is among the suspects.
The statement noted Yurteri stayed at a hotel in Afyonkarahisar province in 2012 with Gokhan Sahin Sonmezates, who organized the assassination attempt on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Police squads started searching the schools located in 12 different locations in the capital.
Separately, one FETO suspect was arrested as part of an anti-terror operation in northwestern Eskisehir province for “being a member of an armed terror organization.”
The 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.