Turkey: Arrest warrants out for 85 FETO-linked suspects

By Zafer Fatih Beyaz and Sertac Bulur

ANKARA (AA) - Arrest warrants have been issued for 85 suspects, including 10 lawyers, as part of a probe into Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in Turkey.

In a statement, Ankara’s Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said 75 of the suspects are students, who are accused of obtaining the leaked question papers of Police Academy examination in 2009.

The statement said 10 of them have already been arrested in the operation that continued in 30 provinces.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which martyred 250 people and injured nearly 2,200 others.

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.

Five of 10 FETO-linked lawyers are also accused of using ByLock, an encrypted smart phone messaging app used by the terrorist group’s members before and during last year's coup attempt, it said.

Six lawyers have already been arrested.

Separately, two former soldiers have been sentenced each to 6 years in jail in northern Sinop on Tuesday for “being a member of an armed terror organization” and attempting to "overthrow the constitutional order."