Authorities ordered the detention of 25 suspects in an investigation into the Gülenist Terror Group’s (FETÖ) infiltration into the Foreign Ministry.
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara said in a statement on Tuesday that suspects included four people on active duty at the ministry. The statement added that the investigation was based on evidence on suspects, including their usage of Bylock, an encrypted messaging app developed and exclusively used by members of the group, and testimonies of eyewitnesses. Some 19 of the suspects were earlier expelled from the ministry on suspicion of links to the terrorist group. Operations were underway in eight provinces to capture the suspects.
FETÖ is known for its widespread infiltration into the public sector, from the judiciary to law enforcement and the army. On July 15, 2016, it attempted to overthrow the government through its military infiltrators. The coup ultimately failed due to unprecedented public resistance. Since then, thousands of FETÖ suspects have been detained or arrested.
Also on Tuesday, authorities detained 10 suspects in four provinces for their links to the terrorist group. Suspects were identified through their usage of Bylock. Istanbul police and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) coordinated the operations to capture the suspects who were part of the “media network” of the group, security sources said.
Türkiye has targeted the terrorist group's active members and sleeper cells nonstop, and its influence has been much reduced since 2016. However, the group maintains a vast network, including infiltrators suspected to be still operating within Turkish institutions.
FETÖ backers in army ranks and civil institutions have disguised their loyalty, as operations and investigations have indicated since the 2016 coup attempt. FETÖ is implicated in a string of cases related to its alleged plots to imprison its critics, money laundering, fraud and forgery.
The terrorist group faces operations almost daily as investigators still try to unravel its massive network of infiltrators everywhere. In 2024 alone, police apprehended hundreds of FETÖ suspects across the country, including fugitives on western borders trying to flee to Europe.
Those apprehended were mostly low-ranking members of the group, as high-ranking members managed to flee the country before and immediately after the coup attempt.
