UPDATES WITH MORE ARRESTS
By Halil Demir and Zafer Akpinar
ISTANBUL/BALIKESIR (AA) – At least 36 people have been arrested across Turkey for their suspected links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, police sources said Thursday.
Nineteen of the 33 suspects have been arrested in 22 provinces including Istanbul after Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 57 people -- all accused of using the terror group’s encrypted messaging program ByLock.
Eight of the suspects were abroad, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to media restricts.
A police search was underway to apprehend the remaining suspects, the sources added.
In separate anti-terror raids in eight provinces including Balikesir in Turkey's west, at least 14 suspects have been rounded up, police sources told Anadolu Agency.
They were arrested after Balikesir Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 20 suspects, who are accused of using the encrypted messaging program. Police still searched for the other six suspects.
Later on Thursday, anti-terror teams in the Black Sea province of Samsun arrested a suspended army officer over links to FETO, another security source said.
Separately, in the northern province of Kastamonu, Turkish police arrested two suspects over their links to FETO. One suspect was wanted by Turkish authorities since 2016, according to the source.
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.