Turkish prosecutors issued on Tuesday arrest warrants for 47 military officers, including those still on active duty, for their alleged links to the movement of US-based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen, referred to as the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) by Ankara, local media reported
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2019) Turkish prosecutors issued on Tuesday arrest warrants for 47 military officers, including those still on active duty, for their alleged links to the movement of US-based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen, referred to as the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) by Ankara, local media reported.
According to the Anadolu news agency, Turkish forces have already raided the homes of suspects in 24 provinces and arrested 31 officers whose warrants were issued earlier in the day. A search for the remaining suspects is underway.
Ankara has accused FETO of masterminding the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey that left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured. In the aftermath of the short-lived rebellion, the Turkish government announced a state of emergency as a necessary measure to counteract terrorists. Since then, over 50,000 people have been arrested and more than 160,000 civil servants, including military personnel, activists, officials, journalists, legal and educational workers, have been dismissed or suspended.
Gulen, who himself has been living in exile in the United States since 1999, has denied the accusations of plotting the coup.
