Turkey probes 4,167 FETO suspects from 110 countries

By Murat Kaya and Mustafa Hatipoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) – A total of 4,167 people from 110 countries with suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) are being investigated by the Turkish intelligence service MIT, the public prosecutor’s office said Thursday.

The information was disclosed by the public prosecutor’s office in a letter to the court requesting that three suspects extradited on April 10 from Gabon by the MIT be remanded in custody on charges of managing an armed terrorist organization and international espionage.

The letter noted that FETO’s presence abroad has spread to 110 countries and they have established schools and nongovernmental organizations to implement their aims.

The terror group works by recruiting poor but smart students, especially in developing countries, in order to help them get jobs at government and political institutions.

“It’s confirmed that Fetullah Gulen and his group aim to build an elite in Turkey and other countries using its schools and social institutions,” the letter said.

FETO began establishing schools in the 1990s, and there are now approximately 400, including universities, controlled by ‘head advisers’ that visit countries on the organization's behalf.

There are also around 135 FETO-run charter schools with 45,000 students in the U.S. and 165 FETO-run non-governmental organizations.

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