Turkey issues arrest warrants for 70 FETO suspects

By Baris Kilic and Sertac Bulur

ANKARA (AA) - The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in capital Ankara on Friday issued arrest warrants for 70 teachers suspected of links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup.

In a statement, the office said the arrest warrants had been issued under an emergency decree for former staff members of FETO-linked schools.

Police later arrested 29 suspects in operations in 12 provinces across the country including the capital.

The statement added that 27 suspects had been accused of using ByLock, an encrypted mobile phone application used by FETO members to communicate during and after the defeated coup attempt.

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 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.

Separately, in southern Mersin province, the police captured a former lieutenant as part of a probe into the FETO, according to a security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

An arrest warrant for the suspect had been issued by Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in eastern Erzincan province.

*Selahattin Ozbozkurt contributed to the story from Mersin, Turkey