By Halil Demir
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish police on Wednesday arrested 54 suspects, many of whom academics, for their ties to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind Turkey’s July 2016 failed coup, a police source said.
Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office earlier issued arrest warrants for 171 suspects, who are former academics or personnel at the FETO-affiliated Fatih University in Istanbul, closed with an emergency decree after the botched coup attempt. The suspects were all users of the notorious ByLock app, an encrypted smartphone messaging app used by FETO members before and during last year's defeated coup attempt.
During the raids conducted in 29 provinces, police rounded up 54 of the 171 suspects, according to the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Twenty-six of the arrestees were women.
“Police are continuing the hunt for the remaining suspects,” the source added.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen are accused of having orchestrated the defeated coup, 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.