Turkey's justice minister said yesterday all court cases related to the July 15, 2016 coup attempt are expected to be decided by the end of this year.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Abdülhamit Gül said around 70 percent of the court cases for the July 2016 putsch attempt of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) have concluded. "Out of 287 court cases, 171 have been decided; 2,140 defendants have been given jail terms and 1,478 have been acquitted. I guess [the remaining] cases will be concluded by the end of 2018," Gul said.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured. Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through its infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

Thousands were detained or arrested after the coup attempt was foiled by strong public resistance. At least 33 people were arrested across the country for their suspected links to FETÖ yesterday.

Nineteen of the 33 suspects were arrested in 22 provinces, including Istanbul, after the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants for 57 people - all accused of using the terror group's encrypted messaging program ByLock. Eight of the suspects were abroad. A police search was underway to apprehend the remaining suspects. Fourteen suspects were also rounded up in separate anti-terror raids in eight provinces, including Balıkesir. They were arrested after Balıkesir's Public Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants for 20 suspects accused of using the same encrypted messaging program. A manhunt was underway to capture the other suspects when Daily Sabah went to print.