Turkey: 35 nabbed in civil service exam fraud probe

By Merve Yildizalp Ozmen

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish police on Wednesday arrested 35 suspects for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in the country, officials said on Wednesday.

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara demanded the arrest of 60 FETO suspects who were accused of having leaked the questions of civil service recruitment exam, also known as KPSS, in 2011, which they used to infiltrate into state institutions, said the chief prosecutor's office in a statement.

With arrest warrants issued, police conducted simultaneous raids across 30 provinces and arrested 35 suspects, the statement noted.

A hunt for the remaining suspects is underway.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey 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.