Prosecutors in the capital Ankara and the western province of Izmir ordered the arrests of dozens of suspects in operations against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) on Tuesday. A total of 105 suspects have been detained so far by security forces in nearly 50 cities. Those detained are among the 127 wanted by authorities in separate investigations focused on the terrorist group's infiltration of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
In the capital Ankara, the Chief Prosecutor's Office ordered the arrests of 26 suspects accused of running the terrorist group's "secret services" in the Land Forces Command. "Services" refers to the widespread network of its terrorist infiltrators. Eighteen of the 26 were arrested in operations in 10 provinces as the search continues for the others. The suspects were identified through their contacts with fellow FETÖ members via public payphones, a method commonly employed by the group that seeks to avoid detection.
A larger operation was underway in Izmir, a province home to several military bases and a place where FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen recruited followers in his early years while he was a preacher. Arrest warrants were issued for 101 suspects, including 28 soldiers, and 87 among them were arrested in nationwide operations. The suspects were identified through cooperation between the Chief Prosecutor's Office, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), the Defense Ministry and the military. Sixteen suspects were still serving in the army while others were retired or expelled from the military earlier on suspicion of links to FETÖ. Some were former military cadets. The suspects were from different branches of the army, including the Land Forces Command, Air Forces Command and the Gendarmerie General Command.
The Chief Prosecutor's Office in the province announced that the investigations were the latest in a string of operations carried out since November 2019 based on a database set up by counterterrorism police to detect suspected FETÖ members who contacted each other with public payphones. A total of 24 operations based on the information from the database have led to the arrests of 1,585 people since November 2019. Among them, 531 suspects collaborated with authorities, invoking a remorse law that provides lenient sentences in exchange for valuable information that helps uncover secret FETÖ members. All were released in exchange for useful information.
Thousands of people were detained or arrested following the July 15, 2016, coup attempt perpetrated by the terrorist group's infiltrators in the army and aided by civilian members of FETÖ. The putsch bid was quelled thanks to strong, unprecedented public resistance against its plotters and was followed by massive investigations into the terrorist group that still operates today.
