More than 60 suspects including soldiers held across Turkey over FETÖ links
ANKARA
Turkish police arrested 61 suspects on May 7 over their suspected links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), security sources said.
In the western province of Balıkesir, 13 soldiers on-duty were arrested over charges of serving as the group’s “covert imams,” a term used to refer to suspected senior members within the organization, state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media.
Sources said three more soldiers on active duty were arrested in the central Tokat province.
The remainder of the suspects arrested on May 7 were civilians, sources added.
Also, a court in the southeastern Şanlıurfa province handed down prison sentences ranging from 2.5 years to 12 years to three people on May 7 for their involvement with FETÖ within the police force, said a judicial source, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media.
U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen’s network is widely believed to have orchestrated the July 2016 coup attempt, which left 250 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.
Since the coup attempt, Turkish authorities have purged thousands of citizens around and outside the country on terror charges.
