Turkey: FETO terror suspects get prison sentences

ISTANBUL (AA) - A court in southern Turkey's Adana province on Monday sentenced 23 former police officers to jail time ranging from three to seven years.

They were convicted of being members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) -- the group behind last year's defeated coup attempt.

During the hearing at Adana’s 11th High Criminal Court, the ex-officers denied all the charges against them.

The court released two of them but with a ban on going abroad and sentenced 23 to prison.

The same court on Monday also heard two other suspects charged over using ByLock -- an encrypted smartphone messaging app used by FETO members before and during last year's defeated coup attempt.

Both received prison sentences of six years.

Also on Monday, in the southeastern Siirt province, a local court sentenced a FETO member to 11 years in prison.

Ahmet Kibici was accused of being the person in charge of organizing the terror group's infiltration of the city's court and prison.

In the central Kirsehir province, a local court sentenced two FETO members to over 10 years in prison. Former police officer Hasan Alpaslan Ilter got 10 years and six months, while FETO-linked dormitory head Hakan Kanat got 15 years.

Also, in the southern Antalya province, the court remanded into custody 11 FETO suspects, allegedly including the person in charge of organizing the group's army infiltration.

They are accused of being members of an armed terrorist group.

Over 60 suspects including soldiers and military students had been arrested on Dec. 13, and were later sent to court with prosecutors seeking prison sentences.

In a separate operation, in the northern Samsun province, police arrested 11 suspects who were reportedly working for FETO-linked companies. Police raided their homes and seized some digital documents.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Gulen organized the July 15 defeated coup attempt, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 others wounded.

The group is accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.