Turkey: Arrest warrants issued for 102 FETO suspects

ISTANBUL/ANKARA  

Turkish prosecutors on Monday issued arrest warrants for 102 active serving and former soldiers over their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the defeated coup of July 2016. 

According to a statement from the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul, 89 suspects are accused of communicating with FETO members. 

Police have arrested 56 of the suspects in operations so far in Istanbul, the statement added.  

Separately, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Ankara also issued arrest warrants for 13 colonels, including three in active service, another judicial source said. 

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. 

Ankara also 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.