Turkey: Arrest warrants out for 70 ex-ministry staff

By Aylin Sirikli and Enes Duran

ANKARA (AA) – The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Ankara issued arrest warrants for 70 former employees of the Finance Ministry on Thursday as part of a probe into the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

The suspects are accused of using the ByLock mobile app that was allegedly used by FETO members during last year’s deadly defeated coup bid, the office said in a statement.

The mobile app is believed to have been cracked by Turkish security agencies before the coup attempt, prompting the plotters to switch to the WhatsApp messaging service but not before tens of thousands of FETO suspects were identified.

The office said that an Ankara-based police operation was launched in five provinces early Thursday to detain the suspects, and the operations were ongoing.

According to the Turkish government, FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, 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.