Türkiye: 35 arrested in FETÖ operation across 27 provinces

Turkish authorities have arrested 35 individuals as part of a large-scale operation targeting the FETÖ terrorist organisation across 27 provinces, Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced.

The operation focused on suspects allegedly involved in FETÖ’s secret police network, including so-called “secret managers,” users of the encrypted messaging app ByLock, and Bank Asya account holders, Caliber.Az reports per Turkish media.

A total of 72 people were detained, including 23 active public servants such as teachers, researchers, and doctors, alongside 40 private-sector employees.

Following initial questioning, 11 suspects were released for cooperating with authorities, while the remaining 61 were taken to the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan for further judicial proceedings. A criminal court ordered the detention of 35 suspects, with the remaining 26 placed under judicial monitoring.

The investigation, coordinated by Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor in conjunction with the Anti-Smuggling and Organised Crime Department, continues.  Authorities noted that eight suspects were abroad at the time of the raids.

The Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ) was a secretive network led by Fethullah Gülen, a cleric who lived in self-exile in the United States until he died in 2024.

Once allied with Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the movement fell out with the government in the early 2010s and was designated a terrorist organisation in 2016. Ankara accused it of infiltrating state institutions, including the judiciary, police, and military, over decades.

FETÖ is blamed for the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, in which over 250 people were killed. Authorities say Gülen loyalists coordinated the plot via encrypted apps like ByLock. Following the coup, Türkiye launched a large-scale purge, arresting tens of thousands and dismissing more than 100,000 public employees from civil service, the judiciary, military, and academia.

By Aghakazim Guliyev