Warrants issued for FETO terror-linked ex-union leaders

ANKARA 

Arrest warrants have been issued for scores of former union leaders linked to FETO, the terrorist group behind the 2016 failed coup, a judicial source said Friday.

The 68 figures served in six different unions, part of the Aksiyon Labor Confederation, which was shut down by a 2016 statutory decree as part of an investigation of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), said the source, who asked not to be named due to restriction on speaking to the media.

After prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued the warrants, police launched an operation in 11 provinces to apprehend the suspects, it added.

51 of suspects have been detained so far and operation is in progress to nab the remaining suspects.

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.

Reporting by Zafer Fatih Beyaz: Writing by Ahmet Sait Akcay