Police detains 34 over suspected FETÖ links

ANKARA/SAMSUN-Anadolu Agency

Turkish police detained 34 suspects on Nov. 25 over links to the FETÖ the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, security sources said.

The detentions on charges of using ByLock, the terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app, came after prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued detention warrants for 46 suspects.

Police continue seeking the remaining suspects.

Separately, prosecutors in the Black Sea Samsun province also issued arrest warrants for 18 suspects including 16 active-duty soldiers and two former military school students for communicating via pay phone with “covert imams” -- senior FETÖ members -- according to a prosecutor’s office statement.

Anti-terror police teams started simultaneous operations in 13 provinces, including the Aegean Izmir province, the statement added.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.