Azerbaijan detained six people, including the leader of a political party, with suspected links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was behind the 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye, officials said Sunday.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said the operation was conducted based on information from the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Five people were initially detained in the operation, according to the ministry.
One of those detained provided information regarding his association with Gubad Ibadoghlu, the founding chairperson of the Azerbaijan Democracy and Welfare Party.
A search was conducted at Ibadoghlu’s office, where important documents were found, and he was also taken into custody.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and thousands more injured.
Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state by infiltrating Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary. FETÖ also has a considerable presence outside Türkiye, including private educational institutions that serve as a revenue stream for the terrorist group.
Operations targeting FETÖ members and militants at home and abroad have been ongoing since 2016, with both Turkish officials and security authorities of nations worldwide organizing raids to capture fugitives of Turkish law.
Due to a close relationship between Ankara and Baku, Azerbaijan has particularly helped catch various so-called senior figures of the terrorist group, such as officers overseeing finances, logistics and schools.
Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has brought some 100 members of the terrorist group from abroad after intelligence operations. The terrorist group faced heightened scrutiny in the wake of the attempt carried out by its infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
Although most military officers who participated in the coup bid were sentenced, the “civilian” members of FETÖ remain more elusive. Despite Türkiye’s extradition requests and bilateral legal agreements, many FETÖ members still freely enjoy their lives in different countries around the world.
In the aftermath of July 15, Türkiye sped up extradition processes for the said FETÖ members.
The U.S., where FETÖ’s fugitive head Gülen resides, is the target of most extradition requests. Türkiye has sent several extradition requests for Gülen to Washington so far but has seen little progress in his extradition. Gülen, who arrived in the U.S. in 1999, lives in a luxurious retreat in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, in self-imposed exile.
