53 Türk Telekom employees detained in probe over failed coup attempt

As part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which was blamed for the failed coup attempt, detention warrants were issued for 89 people, including employees at Türk Telekom. 

In the first wave of operations, a total of 28 people at Türk Telekom were sent to court with an arrest request and 11 of them were arrested. 

The company has so far ceased the job contracts of 290 people in coordination with authorities, company representatives had said earlier. 

Meanwhile, Türk Telekom group CEO Rami Aslan said the company immediately deactivated telecommunication services in locations across Turkey where coup plotters were very active on the night of the July 15 failed coup attempt, in an interview with daily Hürriyet last week. 

The headquarters of the company in Istanbul and the capital Ankara were raided by FETÖ on the night of July 15 and one Türk Telekom employee died.