Turkey: Arrest warrants out for 41 FETO suspects

By Eren Bozkurt

ADANA, Turkey (AA) - Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 41 people with suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, a security source said Saturday.

The suspects were found to have communicated with "covert imams" -- senior FETO members -- using pay phones, said the source who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to media.

Some suspects were active-duty police officers, it said, adding that administrative measures were imposed on others.

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.

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.

*Writing by Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak