35 nabbed in operations against FETÖ
SECURITY forces detained 35 suspects in separate operations across the country against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) yesterday. The operations targeted the terrorist group’s secret members, including those who infiltrated the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
In the western province of Balıkesir, prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 31 suspects linked to the terrorist group and so far, 29 among them were arrested in operations in the province, as well as in Adana, Adıyaman, the capital Ankara, Çanakkale, Istanbul, İzmir, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Muğla, Muş, Sakarya, Samsun, Siirt and Van. Among the wanted were people who work or worked in public sector, including teachers, doctors and nurses and a noncommissioned officer.
Another operation based in the capital Ankara sought the arrests of eight suspects, and six were detained so far in operations in the capital and four other cities. The suspects were alleged members of FETÖ’s secret network in the army’s gendarmerie forces. Two among them were noncommissioned officers expelled from the army on suspicion of FETÖ membership, while others were former military cadets. They were identified through testimonies of the terrorist group’s members who were arrested in earlier operations and their contact with handlers for the group via payphones, a common communication method for the secretive FETÖ network.
In related news, the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) announced yesterday that 15 judges and prosecutors charged with membership of the terrorist group were permanently expelled from their jobs. They were earlier suspended from duty pending investigations.
After the terrorist group tried to seize power on July 15, 2016, with its military infiltrators, Turkey stepped up counterterrorism operations against the group. Thousands of people affiliated with FETÖ were detained or arrested, while hundreds were convicted and sentenced in trials on the coup attempt.
The terrorist group, which posed as a charity movement with religious undertones, sought public support for decades, recruiting youth into its ranks while running an international network of schools and charities. It stands accused of being involved in a number of schemes to expand its infiltration into the public sector and army.