58 detained, more wanted in latest operations against FETÖ

POLICE yesterday detained 58 suspects for their alleged links to Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which faces a heightened crackdown after a 2016 coup attempt blamed on its infiltrators in the military.

A total of 34 suspects were detained upon the orders of İzmir Chief Prosecutor’s Office. Arrest warrants were also issued for 19 others who remain at large. Suspects include on-duty soldiers and the probe by prosecutors focus on group’s network of infiltrators in the military. Operations were currently underway in 24 cities across the country.

Elsewhere, 24 out of 45 suspects wanted for their links to the terrorist group were detained on orders of Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office yesterday.

The suspects were accused of allegedly using ByLock, an encrypted messaging app used by FETÖ members before and during the defeated coup.

FETÖ, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gülen, is accused of activating its infiltrators in the military, from low-ranking officers to generals, to seize power in the summer of 2016, ahead of a planned crackdown on its infiltrators.

They managed to seize several places throughout the night of July 15. However, calls by the country’s leaders to the public thwarted their efforts as people all across the country openly confronted and in- timidated them, at the cost of their lives.

Upon the unprecedented reaction, the putschists had to lay down their arms while some managed to flee. Thousands involved in the putsch bid have been arrested and tried since. In more than 105 coup trials concluded so far, more than 800 defendants have been handed down prison sentences. More than 592 of those defendants, mostly high-ranking officers, were sentenced to life.