Turkey: Warrants out for 51 FETO suspects

By Safak Yel

IZMIR (AA) - Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 51 suspects over alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, security sources said on Tuesday.

Prosecutors in the Aegean province of Izmir ordered the arrest of 51 suspects -- 33 of them accused of allegedly using ByLock, terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app.

The suspects include five police officials, two lawyers, an academic, seven teachers dismissed from profession, a police chief, an engineer, and four accountants.

Police raids were launched simultaneously in 11 provinces, including Ankara and Izmir to apprehend the suspects, the sources added.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey 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.

* Writing by Faruk Zorlu