The new Turkey
Purges on the Gulen Movement 2020

Last update: 2-feb-21

One-third of inmates in Ankara prisons affiliated with the Gülen movement

Since May 2016, the Gülen movement has been classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey under the assigned names Gülenist Terror Organisation (Fethullahçı Terör Örgütü; abbreviation: FETÖ) and Parallel State Structure (Paralel Devlet Yapılanması; abbreviation: PDY). After the failed coup attempt in 2016, the government of Turkey blamed the group for the coup attempt. Source

28 August 2020:
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have significantly increased since discharging officers linked to the Gülen movement.Akar told Anadolu Agency (AA) that “20,062 Gülen movement-linked personnel have been dismissed from the military so far." "They will never wear this uniform again," he said.

25 December 2020:

Turkey arrests 36 FETÖ suspects in new wave of operations against group behind coup

9 December 2020:

27 FETÖ-linked terror suspects arrested in operations across Turkey

8 December 2020:

264 detained in nationwide operations against Gulen movement members in Turkey

Turkish security forces detained 264 suspects on Tuesday in operations across the country against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). In one of the biggest operations against the terrorist group, 204 suspects were detained in Izmir and 49 in other province
Suspects captured in operations based in Izmir were among 304 wanted by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in the province, and a manhunt was underway to capture the others. Those with arrest warrants were mostly soldiers and 295 among them were active-duty soldiers. Read the full article

4 December 2020:

Turkey arrests 76 Gulen movement terror suspects across country

Turkish police arrested 76 suspects nationwide Friday for their alleged links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was behind the 2016 coup attempt in the country.

Provincial anti-terror and intelligence teams determined that 66 of the detained suspects frequently changed their addresses to avoid being caught and rented "safe houses" through their relatives, who do not have a record of links to the terrorist group. The operation to capture the identified suspects was carried out as part of an investigation initiated by prosecutors in the western province of Izmir

Separately, 10 other FETÖ suspects were arrested in an operation based in central Eskişehir province against the terrorist group's infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Read the full article

1 December 2020:

147 arrested in operations against Gulen movement in Turkey

Police across the country launched raids on Tuesday morning to capture suspects linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was behind a coup attempt on July 15, 2016. A total of 147 suspects, from soldiers and police officers to civilians, were arrested.

The largest number of arrests were in the western province of Izmir. A total of 116 suspects were detained in two separate operations. The first operation was against FETÖ members who infiltrated the military. The Izmir Chief Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 82 suspects including 70 active-duty soldiers. 72 were arrested in operations in Izmir and 38 other provinces while manhunt was underway for others.

In the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 19 suspects including a colonel and a lieutenant colonel accused of being FETÖ infiltrators. All suspects were detained in operations in 13 provinces.

Elsewhere, police in the capital Ankara detained 12 out of 20 wanted suspects in operations against users of Bylock. Read the full article

19 November 2020:
Turkey arrests 28 businessmen in anti-Gülen operation

Turkish authorities have arrested 28 businessmen in operations targeting a religious movement accused of plotting the 2016 military coup attempt, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said on Thursday. The police arrested 28 suspected members of the Gülen religious movement in Istanbul, the capital of Ankara and southern province of Urfa in simultaneous raids, Anadolu said.

The suspects are accused of collecting $6.8 million for the movement, it said. The Turkish government has been pursuing members of the religious group since surviving the failed putsch, which it says was carried out by Gülenists who infiltrated the army, state institutions and the police.

Some 20,566 military personnel have been sacked since the failed coup attempt, according to a report by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Authorities have dismissed more than 100,000 state employees accused of links to the movement and arrested thousands in a series of purges since the coup attempt.

7 November 2020:
FETÖ-linked Bank Asya founder nabbed carrying fake ID in Ankara

6 November 2020:

Turkey sets more than $86 million bounty on fugitive FETÖ terrorists

The total amount of bounty set by the Interior Ministry for the capture of 339 fugitive members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) now stands at TL 675 million ($86.4 million), Anadolu Agency (AA) reported. The Interior Ministry's wanted list contains 42 FETÖ members with red notices, 23 with blue, 17 with green, 48 with orange and 209 with gray, including both civilians and former military personnel who led the July 15 coup attempt by military infiltrators of the terrorist group.
Turkey's wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.

Among those in the red category is FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen, as well as a key member of the terror group Adil Öksüz who led the coup attempt from the Akıncı air base in the capital Ankara. Other most-wanted fugitives include members of FETÖ's so-called advisory council, for a total bounty of TL 420 million.
Meanwhile, the total bounty for those in the blue category is TL 69 million, while there is TL 34 million on the heads of fugitives with green notices, TL 48 million on those with orange and TL 104 million on those with gray notices. Read the full article

Dozens captured in new wave of operations against terrorist group FETÖ

28 October 2020:

31 detained in FETÖ operation in Naval Command

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ordered arrest warrants Wednesday for 31 suspects over their links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the perpetrator of the failed 2016 coup.

According to the statement from the office, an investigation was launched against 31 people, including 13 on duty, who were connected to the confidential structure in the Naval Forces Command and the Coast Guard Command. Security forces detected communication between the suspects and prominent FETÖ members.

The primary duty of imams was to recruit as many followers as possible for the group's military network and protect the FETÖ-linked officers and help them get promoted through the ranks. In another investigation in eastern Malatya province against FETÖ, one person was detained.

20 October 2020:
Police arrest 28 FETÖ-linked terror suspects in nationwide operations in Turkey

At least 28 people were arrested on Tuesday in the Turkish capital Ankara for their suspected links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group behind the defeated coup in 2016. This came after the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants for 34 suspects, including 21 active-duty soldiers, as part of a probe into the terrorist group's infiltration of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

The suspects are accused of having contact with "covert imams” or senior FETÖ members serving as their handlers, by payphone. Police carried out an operation and arrested 21 suspects, while a hunt for the remaining suspects is underway. In a separate operation in Ankara, the police arrested two of 11 former judges and prosecutors, who were dismissed by the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) on Monday for their links to the terrorist group.

The suspects were identified from the testimony of other suspects benefiting from a repentance law.

16 October 2020:

14 suspects arrested for links to terrorist group FETÖ in Turkey

Turkish authorities on Friday have arrested at least 14 suspects for alleged links to the Gülen movement (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup.

The suspects, including active-duty soldiers, were arrested in operations in eight provinces after the Chief Prosecutor's Office in western Turkey's Balıkesir issued arrest warrants.

13 October 2020:

Dozens arrested in operations against FETÖ’s military infiltrators in Turkey

In a new wave of operations against the Gülen movement (FETÖ) on Tuesday, authorities issued arrest warrants for dozens of suspects, mainly from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Some 139 people, including active-duty soldiers, were arrested for links to the group which used its military infiltrators four years ago to stage a coup. The coup attempt was quelled, but it is estimated that the group’s members in the military managed to disguise themselves.

Prosecutors in the western province of Izmir, where the group’s fugitive leader Fetullah Gülen rose to prominence in the 1970s and ordered the arrests of 110 soldiers including five former officers. Eighty-nine suspects were arrested so far in the province and 24 other provinces. Arrest warrants stem from an investigation into a FETÖ network in the Turkish air forces and coast guard.

Some suspects were identified through their contact with civilian FETÖ members acting as their “handlers” via payphones, a method commonly employed by the group to avoid drawing suspicion. Among wanted suspects were colonels, lieutenant colonels and officers of lower ranks. Also in Izmir, police re-arrested Fevzi Öztürk, an aide to the commander of TSK’s Aegean Army Command. Öztürk was released and placed on house arrest last month in a trial where he was charged with FETÖ membership. However, a new investigation disclosed his ties to the group’s infiltrators in the army.

In Istanbul, authorities ordered the arrest of 57 suspects in an investigation and 32 were arrested in operations in the city and 14 other provinces. Suspects included active-duty and retired military officers. They were identified in an investigation into a terrorist group’s scheme to plant its men in two military schools training cadets for the Turkish naval forces. Former FETÖ members arrested in earlier operations have given the names of suspects.

FETÖ is known for its devious tactics of widespread infiltration, everywhere from law enforcement to the army. Investigators have worked meticulously to uncover the methods FETÖ has employed. They are accused of running such a scheme in the navy’s schools, giving each applicant to the schools a special application code that would help FETÖ-linked officers interviewing the applicants to identify which would-be cadets were linked to the group.

Thus, others without code numbers supplied by the group would be eliminated by interviewers while those loyal to the group would avoid suspicion. In an earlier investigation, authorities have discovered that between 2004 and 2016, FETÖ assigned “applicant numbers” for its infiltrators in the Turkish air force as well, for use in admission to military school.

Police arrested 17 suspects in another operation that came after arrest warrants were issued by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in the capital Ankara. They were among 25 wanted suspects. All are accused of being part of the terrorist group’s secret network in the Turkish air forces. Police launched operations in Ankara and other provinces to capture the suspects at large. Authorities said suspects were four former noncommissioned officers and civilians who served as "secret imams," a name given to FETÖ handlers for military infiltrators.

Their identities were discovered based upon the testimonies of suspects captured in earlier operations who invoked a remorse law. Remorse law allows suspects to be handed down a much more lenient sentence in exchange for collaboration with authorities. Security sources said “secret imams” were in charge of small cells of military personnel and tracked activities of infiltrators starting from their graduation from the military academy. Military infiltrators would be “handed over” to different handlers when they were reassigned to different provinces during their military careers. Investigators say infiltrators were required to attend “regular meetings” with their handlers and asked to supply their information to the terrorist group about their superiors and subordinates.

In the southwestern province of Muğla, prosecutors ordered the arrest of seven officers, including two who were dismissed from the army on the suspicion of having links to the terrorist group.

FETÖ’s military infiltrators tried to topple the government on July 15, 2016, and killed 251 people in the process while injuring nearly 2,200 others. The group faced heightened scrutiny after the putschist bid, and thousands of people linked to them were detained or arrested since the summer of 2016.

8 October 2020:

Police detain 27 suspects over FETÖ terror links

At least 27 suspects were detained Thursday in the latest round of operations against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) across various Turkish provinces.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in the northwestern province of Sakarya initiated an investigation into suspects accused of carrying out operational activities under the guise of "cell and student houses" as well as providing personnel and financial support to the organization. The investigation was launched following police surveillance, and detention orders were given for 29 suspects.

Operations carried out by Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime (KOM) teams in Sakarya, Ankara, Bayburt, Diyarbakır, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Karabük, Kocaeli and Yozgat provinces resulted in 25 suspects being detained and brought to Sakarya. Police continue to search for the remaining suspects.

1 October 2020:

23 FETÖ suspects arrested in western Turkey

At least 23 people were arrested in western Turkey for their suspected links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, a security source said Thursday.

The arrests came after the prosecutor's office in the Aegean province of Izmir issued warrants for 28 suspects as part of several anti-terror investigations.

During the raids, police also seized some money and digital materials. Police continue the hunt for the remaining five suspects.

29 September 2020:

19 suspects arrested for FETÖ links in Turkey

Turkish police arrested 19 people for their suspected links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) on Tuesday.

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara had issued arrest warrants for 15 suspects, accused of using ByLock, the terrorist group's encrypted smartphone messaging app.

So far 12 suspects have been arrested in Ankara and police are on the lookout for the remaining suspects. The terrorist group, which tried to seize power in a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, used the app for secret communications among its military infiltrators long before the coup attempt.

24 September 2020:

Turkish police arrest 43 suspects in FETÖ probe

Police nabbed 43 people over their suspected links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) Thursday.

Prosecutors in Istanbul had issued warrants for 33 suspects over their alleged links to the terror group. Anti-terror police arrested 28 of these suspects from 27 addresses in Istanbul. During the raids, police also seized money and digital materials. Police continue the hunt for the remaining suspects.

Separately, prosecutors in the northern Tokat province had issued warrants for 15 suspects over their FETÖ links. Local gendarmerie forces arrested the 15 suspects.

22 September 2020:

Police in Turkey arrest 72 suspected of FETÖ terror links

Turkish police arrested 72 people on Tuesday over their suspected links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was behind a 2016 coup attempt.

Prosecutors in western Izmir province had issued warrants for 66 suspects, including 27 lawyers and an active duty member of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). In an Izmir-based operation in 19 provinces, anti-terror police teams arrested 55 suspects. The police continue the hunt for the remaining suspects.

In a separate operation based in eastern Van province, local police arrested 17 suspected FETÖ members in 12 cities. The arrests came after the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Van issued warrants for 19 suspects accused of communicating with senior FETÖ members by payphone.

Earlier, Turkish prosecutors in western Balıkesir also issued arrest warrants for 24 suspects across the country over their alleged links to the terrorist group. Police carried out simultaneous operations in 21 cities against the infiltrators in the TSK. The suspects are accused of communicating with senior FETÖ members by payphone.

Lieutenant hailed as hero for resisting 2016 coup bid arrested on coup charges

A Turkish lieutenant who had appeared as a key witness during trials concerning a failed coup in 2016 and hailed as a hero for his resistance to putschist officers has been detained and arrested on coup charges, the Cumhuriyet daily reported on Tuesday.

Onur Karan, a first lieutenant in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), had been testifying in trials involving the coup attempt, when rogue soldiers attempted a takeover of the country on July 15, 2016. Karan is also accused of membership in the Gülen movement, a religious group inspired by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, which Ankara blames for orchestrating the abortive putsch.

According to the Cumhuriyet report, Karan denied the allegations and said he followed the orders of anti-coup superiors such as Col. Hançeri Sayat and Col. Erkan Olgay, who were both promoted to the rank of brigadier general for their “valor” during the failed coup.

20 September 2020:

94 former army officials with FETÖ links arrested

At least 94 former Turkish military personnel have been arrested for suspected links to the Gülen movement (FETÖ), according to a judicial source.

The suspects arrested were among the 131 former military officials detained in countrywide anti-terror operations carried out on Sept. 16, the source said, who wished to remain anonymous due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

According to the source, the arrested suspects included former army commanders, lieutenants, noncommissioned officers and sergeants. The operation was carried out after prosecutors in Istanbul issued the arrest warrants in a probe into FETÖ’s infiltration into the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

15 September 2020:

Arrests warrants issued for 125 FETÖ suspects in Turkey

Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 125 suspects across the country over their alleged links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), authorities said.

Police launched simultaneous operations in 28 provinces after the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in western Izmir issued arrest warrants for 66 suspects for allegedly being involved in FETÖ’s infiltration into the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

The authorities said 53 of the suspects, including 48 active-duty soldiers, were arrested during the operations. The arrest warrants were issued for the suspects for allegedly having contact with "covert imams" of the terror group by payphone. The nickname is used for FETÖ's secret handlers for its infiltrators.

In separate operations, 17 additional suspects were arrested across the country after prosecutors in Istanbul issued warrants for 47 alleged FETÖ members.

14 September 2020:

41 arrested in operations against FETÖ network in Turkish army

Authorities ordered the arrest of 53 suspects linked to the Gülen movement (FETÖ) on Monday. Some 41 suspects were arrested while a manhunt is underway for the others. Suspects, including serving soldiers, were part of the terrorist group’s network of infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

Police launched operations in 21 provinces after the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul issued arrest warrants. Prosecutors’ investigation led to warrants for those involved in talks with the terrorist group’s civilian handlers for infiltrators via payphones, a method commonly employed by FETÖ to avoid detection. Some suspects were identified with the testimonies of the group’s members captured in earlier operations.

12 September 2020:

26 suspects arrested for FETO links

Turkish authorities arrested 26 people on Saturday for suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup. The arrests came after the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office issued warrants for 51 suspects accused of using ByLock, the terror group’s encrypted smartphone messaging app.

The office’s Department for Terror and Organized Crime conducted simultaneous operations in six Turkish provinces - Adiyaman, Ankara, Izmir, Kocaeli, Manisa, and Van. At least 26 suspects found to be part of the terror group’s regional structure have been arrested so far, with operations underway to track down and apprehend the remaining ones, authorities said.

10 September 2020:

43 arrested in operations against FETÖ’s military cells in Turkey

Authorities ordered the arrest of 43 suspects out of 109 detained in an operation against Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on Thursday. The suspects were captured in joint operations by police and gendarmerie forces upon orders of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul. Among them were military officers and cadets. The arrested suspects were charged with membership of a terrorist organization while 42 other suspects were released with judiciary control for collaborating with authorities and helping to uncover more infiltrators in the army. Twelve suspects wanted in the operations remain at large.

In another operation, prosecutors in the southern province of Adana ordered the detention of 22 suspects who served as “point men” for the group’s infiltrators at a police school. Operations were underway to capture the suspects in Adana and 14 provinces, including a military officer, teachers, civil servants and police officers.

7 September 2020:

District governors in Turkey suspended over suspected FETÖ links

Seven district governors in eastern Turkish provinces have been suspended following an investigation into their alleged ties to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), local media outlets reported Monday.

Authorities, however, did not disclose the details of the investigations. Okay Memiş, the governor of Erzurum – the hometown of FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen – said an investigation was underway into Ilhan, Şeker and Serin. "Their suspension was an administrative measure."

Memiş told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) that the Interior Ministry had launched investigations on "some 35 district governors" across the country. He added that the suspects in question had attained their positions after 2016, the year FETÖ launched a military coup through its infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Read the full article

4 September 2020:

Turkey issues arrest warrants for 70 FETÖ terror suspects

Turkish authorities on Friday issued arrest warrants for 70 people across the country over their alleged links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which is behind the July 15, 2016, coup attempt. The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in the capital Ankara said in a statement that warrants were issued for 27 suspects, including eight active-duty soldiers, linked to the Turkish Land Forces Command (KKK).

They were found to be in frequent contact with the terrorist group's members via telephone. Anti-terror police have arrested 19 of them so far in simultaneous operations. The hunt for eight others is underway.

Separately in the western province of Balıkesir, arrest warrants were issued for 15 suspects over their alleged links to FETÖ. Operations have been launched in 10 provinces to arrest the suspects. Meanwhile, security forces arrested 26 more FETÖ suspects in operations across 12 provinces. The arrests came after prosecutors in the western province of Uşak issued arrest warrants for 28 people. Police are still looking for the remaining suspects.

1 September 2020:

104 arrested in operations against FETÖ’s military network in Turkey

Turkish police arrested 104 suspects in separate investigations against Gülenist Terror Group’s (FETÖ) military infiltrators Tuesday. Prosecutors ordered the arrest of 123 suspects in two investigations in Istanbul. In the first operation held in Istanbul and 13 other provinces, 31 out of 47 suspects were captured by police and gendarmerie forces. Among those arrested was an Air Force major who had resigned from the military, active-duty officers and cadets.

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul said the suspects were in contact with civilian handlers for FETÖ who controlled cells of the terrorist group’s infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). They were identified through their contacts with handlers via payphones to avoid detection.

In the second operation, 59 out of 76 wanted suspects were captured, including five active-duty soldiers. Elsewhere, prosecutors ordered the arrest of serving and retired soldiers in another operation against the military network of FETÖ in the central province of Kayseri.

28 August 2020:

Turkish army much more powerful after expelling FETÖ, Defense Minister Akar says

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Friday that recent military operations demonstrate that the effectiveness and deterrence of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have significantly increased since discharging officers linked to the Gülen movement.

Akar told Anadolu Agency (AA) that “20,062 Gülen movement-linked personnel have been dismissed from the military so far." "They will never wear this uniform again," he said.

Gülen movement, which posed as a charity movement with religious undertones for decades, had managed to infiltrate its members into law enforcement, the military, the judiciary and the bureaucracy over many years. Most of the moles were recruited before they applied to the military, police or law schools, and FETÖ is accused of stealing questions and answers to exams for admission to those institutions, easily planting its members without suspicion. Authorities started cracking down on the group's network after the 2016 coup attempt that killed 251 people.

26 August 2020:

24 ex-police officers held in FETO terror sweep

At least 22 suspects were detained Monday in the latest round of operations against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). Meanwhile, courts ordered the remand in custody of 35 suspects held in earlier operations

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued arrest warrants for 42 suspects, all former cadets at the Turkish Military Academy. A manhunt to detain the other suspects was underway. The suspects were identified through testimonies of former members of the terrorist group through their contacts with FETÖ members via payphones.

18 August 2020:

89 arrested in operations against FETÖ’s military infiltrators in Turkey

Security forces rounded up 89 suspects in nationwide operations against the Gülen movement (FETÖ) on 18. July. Operations launched by prosecutors in Istanbul, the capital Ankara and the western city of Izmir target the group’s network of infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Captured suspects include former military officers, active-duty officers and their civilian handlers.

In the capital Ankara, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office investigating a secret communication scheme between infiltrators and the group’s civilian members ordered the arrest of 25 suspects. Suspects were members of a FETÖ network in the Turkish Air Forces Command (HvKK). Eighteen suspects were captured in Ankara and 13 provinces while a manhunt was underway for others. All suspects are noncommissioned officers and 21 among them were already dismissed from the army on suspicion of having links to the terrorist group.

11 August 2020:

40 suspects arrested in new wave of operations against Gulen movement in Turkey

Turkish police on Tuesday detained 40 suspects linked to the Gülen movement in nationwide operations. The effort targeted the outfit’s secret network in the army and users of an encrypted messaging app developed by FETÖ.

In Istanbul, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrest of suspects for an investigation into FETÖ's infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Across 11 cities, 34 alleged members were arrested in simultaneous operations in Istanbul and by counterterrorism units of the Turkish police.

Suspects, including active-duty military officers and civilian handlers for military infiltrators of the group, were in contact with each other via payphones to avoid detection, according to officials. Some suspects were detected thanks to testimonies of FETÖ members caught in earlier operations who collaborated with police. A manhunt is underway to capture six other suspects.

23 July 2020:

Turkey orders detention of 102 suspects in last 3 days over Gülen links

Turkish prosecutors in the last three days have ordered the detention of 102 suspects, including active duty soldiers, as part of a post-coup crackdown targeting alleged followers of the Gülen movement, which is accused of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt despite its strong denial of any involvement.

The Konya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday issued detention warrants for 14 former police academy students over alleged Gülen links.

According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, six of the suspects were detained.

On the same day the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the detention of 31 suspects in an investigation into the movement.

The suspects are accused of using ByLock, a now-defunct smart phone application that is believed by Turkish authorities to have been used among Gülen followers.

The Anadolu report said eight of the suspects, including four former public servants, were detained.

Turkey fired more than 130,000 civil servants in the aftermath of the coup attempt.

On Wednesday police in Gaziantep province took 12 suspects into custody as part of an investigation into the alleged military wing of the movement.

Three of the detainees were active duty soldiers, the report indicated.

Meanwhile, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday issued detention warrants for 25 active duty and former noncommissioned officers over alleged Gülen ties.

Nineteen of the suspects were active duty soldiers, while one was purged by the government, four were retired and one had resigned from the military.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also ordered the detention of 20 former and active duty gendarmes on Thursday over Gülen links.

Anadolu said four of them were active duty, 15 had been dismissed from the service and one was retired.

At least 14 of them were detained in police operations in 12 Turkish provinces.

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on July 15, on the fourth anniversary of the failed putsch, that a total of 282,790 people have been detained on coup-related charges, with 94,975 of them arrested, since the coup attempt.

In a written statement, he also said 25,912 people among the arrestees were still in jail.

21 July 2020:
12 users of FETÖ’s ByLock app arrested in Turkey

Security forces on 21 July arrested 12 suspects who were discovered using ByLock, an encrypted messaging app developed and exclusively used by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). Suspects were among 31 wanted by the Chief Prosecutor's Office in the capital Ankara. Operations were underway to capture the other suspects. The wanted suspects include civil servants, and operations were held in 10 provinces to capture the suspects.

21 July 2020:

2 users of FETÖ’s ByLock app arrested in Turkey

According to media reports, the FETÖ-linked staff working in a powerful intelligence department of the Turkish National Police were the "architects" of the app, or rather its modification to serve the purposes of the group. A group of intelligence officers has been accused of controlling the private app used to deliver Gülen's messages to his followers, as well as to instruct the group's members on how to carry out plots against anti-Gülenists.

15 July 2020:

35 nabbed in Turkey in probe of FETÖ's civil servant exam fraud

Turkish police on 15 July arrested 35 suspects for their alleged links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was behind the country's defeated coup in July 2016.

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara demanded the arrest of 60 FETÖ suspects who were accused of having leaked the questions of the civil service recruitment exam, also known as KPSS, in 2011, to associates who were used to infiltrate state institutions, the chief prosecutor's office said in a statement.

With arrest warrants issued, police conducted simultaneous raids across 30 provinces and captured 35 members, the statement noted. A hunt for the remaining suspects is underway. The arrests come on the fourth anniversary of the coup attempt on July 15, which sped up Turkey's crackdown on the terrorist group

10 July 2020:
FETÖ-linked judge sought with Red Notice detained in Ankara

Menekşe Uyar, a former Istanbul judge who was sought with a Red Notice regarding the OdaTV case, was detained by security forces in the Pursaklar district of Ankara on Friday.

Uyar is among 33 former judges and prosecutors linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), who have been prosecuted by the eighth Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals on OdaTV case.

The suspects have been prosecuted with charges of malpractice and deprivation of liberty. The court issued an arrest warrant and Red Notice for 13 suspects on Oct. 16, 2019, including the FETÖ-linked former prosecutor Zekeriya Öz and Uyar. Another indictment was issued in Istanbul for Uyar regarding the "Sledgehammer" military coup plot case.

The Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) dismissed 26 judges and prosecutors for their links to FETÖ. That decision came after an investigation into content from the encrypted message app ByLock, as well as testimonials.

9 July 2020:

14 arrested after raid on FETÖ safe houses

Police in the northwestern Turkish province of Bursa arrested 14 Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) suspects in a raid on the group's safe houses Thursday. A former director of a Justice Ministry department was among the suspects. Bursa Chief Prosecutor’s Office had already issued arrest warrants for 15 suspects and two fugitive convicts who disappeared after being sentenced in a case. They were earlier released pending trial.

One captured suspect was identified as Erol Mutlu, a former Justice Ministry official who was serving as a judge in Bursa when FETÖ moved to seize power with the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Another suspect, Hayati Canlılar, was the former director of a now-defunct business association linked to the terrorist group. A lieutenant expelled from the military on suspicion of links to the group was also captured.

At the duplex, safe house police discovered secret passages between two apartments and hiding places. The Police also found fake IDs and other forged documents in possession of the suspects. Operations were underway to capture other wanted suspects.

8 July 2020:

Turkey arrests 34 FETÖ terror suspects in nationwide operations

At least 34 suspects were arrested in Turkey for suspected links to the Gülen movement (FETÖ), which was behind the 2016 defeated coup in the country, a security source said Wednesday.Local police in the Aegean province of Izmir carried out simultaneous operations in five cities.

At least 19 suspects were arrested, including two expelled police chiefs found to be using ByLock – FETÖ's encrypted smartphone messaging app – and contacting terror affiliates via pay phone. ByLock was discovered during criminal inquiries into the terrorist group. The National Intelligence Directorate (MIT) uncovered the messaging app apparently programmed or modified for the exclusive use of the group's members by someone linked to FETÖ. Read the full article

23 June 2020:
FETÖ’s coup mastermind wanted by Turkey, harbored by Germany in former military base

Turkish media outlets reported on Tuesday that Adil Öksüz, one of the most wanted men in Turkey, was sheltered by Germany. Öksüz, who is wanted for masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt on behalf of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) stayed in an old U.S. military barracks in Germany’s Heidelberg, Turkish broadcaster A Haber reported. Also used by NATO troops, the barracks were converted into a place for asylum seekers and Öksüz was there, along with other senior members of FETÖ who fled Turkey after the coup attempt was foiled. More than 120 members of the group reportedly stayed there.

Mark Twain Village next to Campbell Barracks were used as a shelter for Öksüz whose whereabouts have long been unknown. Öksüz was captured at a military base in the Turkish capital Ankara during the coup attempt but judges and prosecutors controversially released him one day later. He disappeared after traveling to his hometown in northwestern Turkey but multiple reports emerged that he was in Germany. Turkey has sought clarification on the matter from Berlin but Germany was silent except remarks by government that the issue was investigated.

Coincidentally, the place where Öksüz stayed is near Speyer, a city where Zekeriya Öz, a renowned prosecutor working for FETÖ, hid out for a while, raising Turkey’s suspicions that Germany is actively harboring members of the terrorist groups. Media reports say FETÖ members at large mostly reside in Germany’s Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Speyer and Heidelberg.

Trial begins on Gulen movement’s 1st plot to topple Turkish government

A trial of 34 defendants accused of ensnaring Turkey’s intelligence chief in a conspiracy regarded as the first known plot to topple the government by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) opened under tight security in Istanbul on Monday.

Dubbed the “MIT conspiracy” trial after the Turkish initials of the National Intelligence Directorate, the trial will delve into the group’s role in an attempt to detain MIT Director Hakan Fidan and others in 2012. The court in Silivri, where a high-security complex serving both as a prison and a courthouse campus on Istanbul’s European side, decided to close the trial to the press as it involved intelligence matters. Fourteen defendants in the case are in custody, while 15 others are still at large. Others were earlier released pending trial. The case has 32 plaintiffs, including Fidan, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and former ministers.

Prosecutors say it was “the first open attempt by FETÖ – whose ultimate purpose was to topple the government – against the government."

The indictment points out that the group sought to remove the head of the intelligence service through a sham investigation. Fidan and several other public officials were summoned to testify by FETÖ-linked prosecutors on Feb. 7, 2012, over allegations of MIT's ties to the terrorist group PKK. Later investigations revealed that the prosecutors and judges ultimately sought to arrest Fidan to trigger a crisis. Fidan did not go to the court to testify, upon the instructions of Erdoğan, who was prime minister at the time.

Prosecutors charged 34 suspects – including FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen, the group's handlers for its infiltrators in the judiciary, law enforcement and MIT, former police chiefs and a journalist – with attempting to overthrow the government and running a terrorist group. The other charges in the case are obtaining confidential documents for political or military espionage and forgery of official documents. Overall, the charges carry prison terms from aggravated life imprisonment to sentences between 26 years and 53 years.

"It is clear that FETÖ engaged in a power struggle with the government and the first stage of its efforts for their ultimate goal (to topple the government) included the Ergenekon, Balyoz and Poyrazköy (trials), military espionage, the Tahşiye and Selam-Tevhid (cases), MIT trucks and the Dec. 17-25 cases," the indictment says, referring to a series of investigations and trials launched by FETÖ-linked prosecutors, police chiefs and judges.

All were found to be based on forged evidence and were attempts to stifle FETÖ's critics or imprison anyone the terrorist group viewed as an obstacle to their pursuit of gaining clout. The MIT plot sought to speed up this process, prosecutors say. "This is, as a matter of fact, FETÖ's first attempt to overthrow the elected government of the Republic of Turkey," the indictment says. By arresting Fidan, the plotters would eventually implicate the prime minister in the case and force him to resign, prosecutors say.

Istanbul's specially authorized prosecutors, Sadrettin Sarıkaya and Bilal Bayraktar, who were later revealed to be members of FETÖ, had issued a court summons for Fidan for his supposed collaboration with the PKK, a few months after a tape supposedly containing MIT's talks with the PKK surfaced. However, Fidan and the other public officials involved in the case did not cooperate with the prosecutor's orders after being instructed by the then-prime minister, President Erdoğan – who had planned to have surgery on the court day but postponed it due to the incident – not to follow the issued order.

At the time, the ruling government had harshly criticized the prosecutor's move, later dismissing him from the case. Sarıkaya later fled the country on Sept. 27, 2015, while under investigation as part of a FETÖ-linked case. He was caught in Istanbul two years later. Bayraktar remains at large. After the incident, a law was passed that stipulated MIT officials could only be investigated upon the permission of the prime minister.

FETÖ DEFAMED INTELLIGENCE

The indictment also sheds light on details of the conspiracy, including how FETÖ-linked judiciary members manipulated the case of plaintiff Mustafa Özer. Özer, who was later revealed to be employed by MIT, was a journalist who contacted top PKK members and worked as an informant for the intelligence agency. His house was searched upon the order of Bayraktar, and he was briefly detained. FETÖ-linked judges issued an order to wiretap his phone, and despite the secrecy on the case, his name and work were openly published on the website of Taraf, a now-defunct newspaper with intimate ties to FETÖ.

Prosecutors say FETÖ members sought to portray MIT as an organization collaborating with the PKK with the double purpose of defaming the government and removing top MIT executives to replace them with their own infiltrators. The terrorist group's infiltrators in the judiciary knew the prime minister was scheduled to have surgery and would, as a result, be unable to intervene in the process, deliberately choosing Feb. 7 as the date to summon Fidan and others.

Leaked audio recordings of talks between MIT officials and PKK members, known as the "Oslo talks," hit headlines shortly before the attempt to arrest Fidan. The talks were originally part of the government's efforts collectively known as the "reconciliation process," a bid to end PKK violence.

However, the leaked tapes ended up being fodder for anti-government propaganda, with FETÖ-linked media outlets claiming a collaboration between the PKK and the government. The indictment says hard drives containing audio recordings were "planted" by FETÖ-linked police officers at the offices of a political party with ties to the PKK and were "found" in a raid on the said place on Jan. 13, 2012.

The indictment traces back a plot to remove Fidan in his first days in the post and refers to "Israel's disappointment over the assignment of Fidan as the new head of the intelligence service," implying that FETÖ served the purposes of Israel.

Prosecutors say that the terrorist group, or rather its infiltrators in law enforcement and the judiciary, resorted to a series of crimes to build a case against Fidan and others, including arranging "secret" witnesses who were people fed up with false information issued by prosecutors concocting crimes.

About one year after the MIT incident, FETÖ used its members in the judiciary to open a corruption investigation into some members of the Cabinet. Prosecutors Zekeriya Öz and Celal Kara, now wanted for being members of FETÖ, created a list of names for prosecution, including Erdoğan's son Bilal Erdoğan. The aim was to establish a corruption link through Bilal Erdoğan with forged evidence that would then be linked to his father.

This attempt was also unsuccessful, as the police did not follow the prosecutor's orders. After this incident, which the government considered to be a breaking point, efforts to stop FETÖ members who had infiltrated nearly all government institutions intensified. Eventually, this led to FETÖ being listed as a national security threat after the recommendation of the National Security Council (MGK).

According to the indictment, two senior FETÖ members traveled to the U.S. before the plot against Fidan was put in motion and met with Gülen to discuss plans to ensnare Fidan and others in the conspiracy. Upon their return, they held talks in the capital Ankara with Ali Rıza Tekinkaya, a senior FETÖ member who conveyed the plans to members of law enforcement loyal to the terrorist group.

16 June 2020:

Turkey arrests 159 Gulen movement terror suspects

As many as 159 suspects were arrested Tuesday for alleged links to Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was behind the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

At least 112 suspects were held for having contacts with "covert imams,” or senior FETÖ members in charge of the group's secret members, by pay phone. Pay phones were one of the methods the group used to disguise contacts between its members. A Turkish intelligence report shows that the terrorist group turned to pay phones as early as 2009 to arrange meetings of its infiltrators and their handlers.

The suspects, including active-duty members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), were arrested in an Izmir-based police operation launched across 56 provinces. In a separate Istanbul-based operation, Turkish security forces rounded up 44 suspects, including on-duty soldiers, security sources said.

Meanwhile, in the Black Sea province of Samsun, police arrested three suspects, including one on-duty soldier, who were accused of communicating with "covert imams" using pre-paid phone cards, the security sources said.

11 June 2020:

US consulate employee Topuz sentenced for aiding Gulen movement

A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced a member of staff from the U.S. Consulate-General in Istanbul, Metin Topuz, to eight years and nine months in prison for aiding and abetting the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).

Topuz, a Turkish translator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) at the consulate, was arrested in 2017 following FETÖ’s 2016 coup attempt.

He was charged with membership in the terrorist group, with the prosecutor having previously asked for a prison term of between seven to 15 years.

Prosecutors had earlier sought up to 35 years in prison for Topuz on charges of espionage and links to FETÖ. The indictment accuses Topuz of being in frequent contact with police chiefs and prosecutors wanted or jailed for membership in the group, including officers who spearheaded FETÖ’s first coup attempt in December 2013 that sought to implicate people close to the government on false corruption charges. Read the full artice

9 June 2020:

Arrest warrants out for Gulen movement terror suspects across Turkey

Turkish security authorities on Tuesday launched multiple operations in various provinces to arrest terror suspects affiliated with the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) which is behind the bloody failed coup attempt of 2016. Prosecutors issued arrest warrants for a total of 191 suspects, including 181 on-duty members of the Turkish air force, and security forces launched Izmir-based simultaneous operations in 22 provinces. Security sources also announced that 145 of the suspects were arrested.

Separately, prosecutors issued arrest warrants for a total of 44 suspects, including eight on-duty members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), and security forces launched Istanbul-based simultaneous operations in eight provinces. Security sources said 33 of the suspects were arrested.

In another Ankara-based operation, prosecutors also issued arrest warrants for eight suspects, including an on-duty member of the Turkish Gendarmerie General Command (JGK).

68 arrested, including former police officers, in anti-Gulen movement operations

Security forces launched nationwide operations on Monday to capture members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) in the latest round of crackdowns against the group behind the 2016 coup attempt. In separate investigations, prosecutors ordered the detention for 167 suspects, and 68 were detained. The manhunt was underway for suspects at large. Along with civilians, the suspects include police officers and military officers.

In the southern city of Gaziantep, arrest warrants were issued for 33 suspects, and all were detained in Monday’s operations. Some 24 among them were serving police officers, while others were earlier dismissed from the force on suspicion of having ties with FETÖ.

Authorities in the western city of Balıkesir, meanwhile, ordered the arrest of 74 former police officers, including former police chiefs, associated with the terrorist group. Operations were launched in 13 provinces to capture the suspects. Read the full article

22 June 2020:

Turkey arrests 438 detainees in İzmir-based probes into military members in last 7 months

Turkish courts in the past half year have arrested 438 suspects out of 847 detainees who were taken into police custody in six separate investigations into the Gülen movement, which is accused of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt despite its strong denial of any involvement.

The detentions were conducted between November and June, with the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s issuance of detention warrants for 928 suspects, including 631 active duty military members, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

The other suspects include former soldiers and former military cadets. The prosecutors charged the suspects with membership in the movement, seeking their detention even though they did not participate in the abortive putsch.

16 June 2020:

Turkey orders detention of 174 active duty soldiers, 174 others in post-coup crackdown

Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday ordered the detention of 348 people as part of a post-coup crackdown targeting the faith-based Gülen movement, which is accused of orchestrating an abortive putsch in 2016 despite its strong denial of any involvement. The detention orders mainly targeted military members, with 174 of the suspects active duty soldiers and 107 retired soldiers and former military cadets.

The İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the detention of 167 people, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. At least 100 of the suspects were detained in police raids in 56 provinces, the report indicated. Prosecutors in İstanbul and Çanakkale issued detention warrants for 114 active duty and retired military members over alleged Gülen links.

Since the coup attempt, nearly 20,000 soldiers have been dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces, according to the defense ministry. Meanwhile, police in Ankara and Balıkesir raided residences following the issuance of detention warrants for 67 people who are accused of membership in the Gülen movement.

8 June 2020:

Arrest warrants out for FETÖ terror suspects across Turkey

Prosecutors issued arrest warrants for a total of 191 suspects, including 181 on-duty members of the Turkish air force, and security forces launched Izmir-based simultaneous operations in 22 provinces. Security sources also announced that 145 of the suspects were arrested.

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara also issued arrest warrants for a total of 32 suspects, including 13 on-duty members of the Turkish air force. Security sources announced that 25 of the suspects were arrested in simultaneous operations in 14 provinces. In another Ankara-based operation, prosecutors also issued arrest warrants for eight suspects, including an on-duty member of the Turkish Gendarmerie General Command (JGK).

5 June 2020:

More than 100 arrested in nationwide FETÖ operations

Turkish police on Friday arrested at least 94 people for suspected ties to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt against the Turkish government.

Prosecutors in the Aegean province of Izmir issued warrants for 31 suspects accused of using ByLock, an encrypted messaging app developed and exclusively used by FETÖ members, according to authorities.

FETÖ, known for its secretive methods of communication, utilized everything from in-game chats in mobile games to payphones to convey messages between its members. ByLock is the most well-known app used by FETÖ members, and its use was discovered before the 2016 coup attempt.

The suspects were caught in 27 simultaneous operations across the city, authorities said, adding that a total of nearly $100,000 (nearly TL 677,000) was seized in various currencies, which was suspected to be used for funding the terrorist group.

Prosecutors in the capital Ankara issued arrest warrants for 37 other suspects in a similar probe. The authorities said suspects were arrested in early morning raids, with more than $40,000 seized in one of the suspects’ homes. The suspects are being charged with membership to an armed terrorist group.

Elsewhere, 26 suspects were arrested in the southern Mersin province. According to a statement by Mersin prosecutors, the suspects were arrested for being members of the civilian branch of the terrorist organization.

In the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, prosecutors also ordered the arrest of 18 active military personnel in a case regarding the terrorist group's infiltration into the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The authorities said 15 of the suspects were captured, and a manhunt was underway to find the remaining three.

The terrorist group is known for its widespread infiltration of the army, law enforcement, the judiciary and bureaucracy. In December 2013, its members in the police force and courts attempted to topple the government under the guise of a graft probe targeting government officials. It was the first time the terrorist group openly waged war against the government using its infiltrators.

When it failed, they made another attempt on July 15, 2016, employing infiltrators in the TSK to seize power by force. A total of 251 people were killed and nearly 2,200 others were injured in FETÖ's bloodiest attempt to date. What followed was a barrage of investigations against the terrorist group. Turkey lifted the state of emergency imposed after the coup attempt but three years on, operations continue against FETÖ.

3 June 2020:

13 arrested in operations against FETÖ in Turkey

Turkish security forces rounded up 13 suspects in operations in seven cities against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) on Wednesday.

Prosecutors in the central city of Konya issued arrest warrants for 20 suspects including active-duty soldiers linked to the terrorist group behind the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Suspects were part of a secret military network and were identified through their contacts with the terrorist group’s handlers through payphones. A manhunt is underway to capture the seven suspects.

The Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that 4,562 soldiers were dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) for their suspected links to FETÖ since a state of emergency, which was imposed after the putsch, was lifted in July 2018

2 June 2020:

77 arrested in operations against FETÖ’s network in Turkish military

In the first major operation against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) in three months, authorities arrested 78 suspects on Tuesday. Police in 43 provinces launched operations to capture the suspects after prosecutors in Istanbul and the central province of Konya issued arrest warrants for 128 suspects.

Almost a daily occurrence before the COVID-19 pandemic made its foray into Turkey in March, operations against the group were scaled down during the outbreak. FETÖ is responsible for the July 15, 2016 coup attempt that killed 251 people and injured hundreds.

In Istanbul, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office said operations were launched in 35 provinces for 118 suspects including 98 active-duty soldiers. Seventy-two suspects were captured while operations were underway to arrest others. All suspects are accused of being part of the terrorist group’s secret network in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Read the full article

31 May 2020:

Aide to commander of Turkey’s Aegean Army arrested over links to FETÖ terrorists

An aide of the commander of Turkey’s Aegean Army (Fourth Army) was arrested on Sunday. The major, identified only by his initials F.Ö., was arrested over links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). He had earlier been detained in the western province of Izmir.

According to information provided by security sources, it was determined that F.Ö. was communicating with high-ranking members of the terrorist group via payphones. The investigation was coordinated by the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

F.Ö., who was actively serving under the leadership of Aegean Army Commander Lt. Gen. Ali Sivri, contacted FETÖ suspect L.Ç., who was charged with being a leader of an armed terrorist group.

22 May 2020:

Turkish military has purged 19,495 members since 2016 coup attempt

A total of 19,495 military members have been purged from the Turkish Armed Forces since a failed 2016 coup, the defense ministry said on Friday, according to the Turkish media. Turkey accuses the faith-based Gülen movement of orchestrating the abortive putsch, although it strongly denies any involvement.

The dismissals from the military are mainly executed over alleged ties to the movement. The Turkish government has purged some 130,000 civil servants since the coup attempt.

20 April 2020:

Ministry says more than 5,000 TSK members under investigation over Gülen links

The Turkish Defense Ministry has announced that there are ongoing investigations into 5,034 members and staff of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) over their alleged links to the Gülen movement, which is accused by the government of masterminding a failed coup in July 2016, according to local media reports.

The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding a failed coup on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.

According to information from the ministry, a total of 19,397 members of the armed forces, including officers and civilian personnel, have been discharged due to Gülen links since the failed coup.

Following the coup attempt, the government launched a massive crackdown on followers of the Gülen movement under the pretext of an anti-coup fight, as a result of which more than 150,000 people were removed from state jobs while in excess of 30,000 others were jailed and some 600,000 people have been investigated on allegations of terrorism.

6 April 2020:

Turkish military has dismissed more than 19,000 members over Gülen links since coup attempt

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has since a coup attempt in 2016 dismissed 19,203 of its members due to alleged ties to the faith-based Gülen movement, which is accused of orchestrating the abortive putsch despite its strong denial of any involvement, according to a statement issued on Sunday.

The statement added that administrative investigations are pending for 5,035 military members.

On the pretext of an anti-coup fight, more than 130,000 people were removed from state jobs while in excess of 30,000 others are still in jail and some 600,000 people have been investigated on allegations of terrorism.

13 March 2020:

9 suspects nabbed in operations against FETÖ in Konya, 5 other cities

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in the central city of Konya on Friday issued arrest warrants for 16 suspects linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). Nine suspects were captured in operations in Konya and 5 other cities while a manhunt is underway to capture the remaining suspects.

The suspects are alleged to have been in contact with handlers for FETÖ's military infiltrators. The Prosecutor’s Office said handlers identified in another investigation had been in contact with the suspects via pay phones.

11 March 2020:

11 suspects captured in operations against FETÖ in Turkey

Ankara police detained 11 out of 15 suspects wanted in connection with an investigation into the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) on Wednesday. The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in the Turkish capital issued arrest warrants for the suspects on charges of membership in a terrorist group and financing terrorism.

Seven of the suspects were users of the Bylock app, while one suspect was a teacher who was suspended earlier on suspicion of affiliation with the group. ByLock was discovered during criminal inquiries into the terrorist group whose criminal activities have been under the spotlight since two coup attempts in 2013. The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) uncovered the messaging app, apparently programmed or modified for exclusive use by the group's members, by an insider linked to FETÖ.

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4 March 2020:

40 FETÖ-linked terror suspects arrested in Turkey

Turkish police on Wednesday arrested 40 people for their alleged links to Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt. In a statement, Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said arrest warrants were issued for 23 former police personnel and one civilian, who was dismissed from a public office.

In Ankara-based operations, 18 FETÖ-linked terror suspects were arrested. A search for remaining suspects continued.

Meanwhile, police also launched simultaneous operations in six provinces as part of a northwestern Bolu-based probe into the terror group’s "covert imams," or handlers for the group's secret members. According to security sources, seven suspects were arrested in the provinces of Bolu, Antalya, Sakarya, Ankara, Konya and Istanbul.

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3 March 2020:

12 Gulen movement suspects arrested in Antalya

Police in the southern province of Antalya captured 12 suspects linked to Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) on Tuesday. Suspects had outstanding arrest warrants for “membership in a terrorist group.” Police raided several locations in the Mediterranean province used as safe houses by the group’s members. Two captured suspects were wanted in investigations in other cities.
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4 March 2020:

Turkey orders detention of 115 suspects as part of post-coup Gülen crackdown

28 February 2020:

101 arrested in anti-FETÖ operations

21 February 2020:

Latest figures show 26,862 people in jail over Gülen links

Indictment by Turkish prosecutors reveals Gulen movement's suspect's intimate ties with CIA

23 January 2020:

Enver Altaylı, a former staff member of Turkey's National Intelligence Presidency (MİT) was recently indicted in a case over his links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). The damning indictment against Altaylı, who was detained in 2017, discloses his close ties with several members of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as well as prominent members of the terrorist group.

FETÖ was behind the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey that killed 251 people. Altaylı was among thousands of suspects detained following the attempt by the terrorist group's military infiltrators. He and three others, including his son-in-law, face accusations of running a terrorist group and membership of a terrorist group stemming from their links to FETÖ. The indictment by the chief prosecutor's office in the capital Ankara also accuses them of political and military espionage.

Mehmet Barıner, another former MİT official, is also a suspect in the case. Altaylı and his son-in-law Metin Can Yılmaz are accused of trying to smuggle Barıner abroad after he was dismissed from his post following the coup attempt on suspicion of FETÖ affiliation.

Authorities found a trove of evidence while searching Altaylı's residence and computers, including his correspondence with CIA officials, reports on "how to create an environment feasible for a military coup in Turkey" and "strategies" for FETÖ members in case of a successful coup attempt. Altaylı's phone records also show his contacts with fugitive and jailed FETÖ members, including Mümtazer Türköne and Erkam Tufan, and an application commonly used for communication by FETÖ members.

Letters addressed to Fetullah Gülen, leader of FETÖ, were also found in Altaylı's computer. One letter urged Gülen to use his infiltrators' clout in Turkey to stop Kaşif Kozinoğlu, an MİT official who died in prison in 2011 after he was imprisoned as part of the notorious Ergenekon trials, which later turned out to be concocted by FETÖ-linked prosecutors, judges and police officers to imprison FETÖ's critics.

An interesting email draft was also discovered in Altaylı's cellphone. Dated Oct. 3, 2016, the draft was addressed to a "Mr. Gen. Flynn" – most possibly Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump. Altaylı says he faced "dismissal" in Turkey for opposing Russian policies, and he would "continue his task" in Belfast.

The indictment says Altaylı had contacts with a number of CIA officials and corresponded with them on social and political developments in Turkey and presented them reports on "critical developments about Turkey."

Altaylı also had intimate ties with Rasim Bölücek, a former adviser to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, head of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Bölücek and Altaylı made 1,159 phone calls to each other, according to the indictment.

Dozens sentenced to jail in FETÖ wiretapping trial

22 January 2020:

Some 131 Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) suspects were handed down jail sentences Wednesday ranging from three to 45 years for illegally wiretapping high profile targets, including politicians, journalists and business people.

The 4th High Criminal court in the capital Ankara sentenced 126 of the 211 defendants to three years and nine months for "membership of an armed terrorist organization," while 105 of the same defendants were handed down an additional term of four years six months for "forgery of legal documents."

The court went on further to issue sentences to 92 of the defendants, increasing their jail time by seven years and six months for "illegal wiretapping."

Former police intelligence chief Ramazan Akyürek, the most high-profile suspect in the case, was sentenced to a total of 45 years in prison, while former deputy director Gürsel Aktepe was handed down a 27-year sentence.

Former chiefs of police Yurt Atayün and Ali Fuat Yılmazer were each sentenced to seven years six months in prison.

Meanwhile, the court decided to acquit 37 of the suspects while separating the cases of 43 others, including a number of individuals being tried in absentia, having evaded justice.

According to the indictment, the wiretapped targets included President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's chief adviser Yalçın Topçu, former ministers Koray Aydın, Abdullatif Şener and Namık Kemal Zeybek, former general Hurşit Tolon, businesspeople Ali Koç, Vuslat Sabancı, Nihat Özdemir, and dozens of journalists and several lawmakers.

The prosecutors said FETÖ suspects wiretapped government officials and encrypted phones to infiltrate state institutions in order to overthrow the democratically elected government.

19 January 2020:

36 Gulen movement -linked terror suspects arrested

180 Gulen movement terror suspects nabbed across Turkey

Turkey police arrest 123 Gulen movement terror suspects

18 February 2020:

Turkey seeks arrest of 467 people for links to Gülen movement

25 January 2020:

High-ranking FETÖ member that served as Malaysia 'country imam' nabbed in raid

24 January 2020:

40 police officers detained over alleged Gülen links

21 January 2020:

Arrest warrants issued in crackdown on FETÖ infiltrators

Former judge sentenced

Meanwhile, a court in southeastern Gaziantep province sentenced a former judge to six years and 10 months in prison for being a FETÖ member.The court sentenced Sabit Numan Kaya for "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" as the prosecutor said the evidence showed Kaya using ByLock, an encrypted messaging app developed and exclusively used by FETÖ members.

Turkey arrests 203 suspects in operations against Gulen movement

Authorities issued arrest warrants for 237 people associated with the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) on Tuesday. At least 203 suspects were arrested in nationwide operations while a manhunt is underway to capture the suspects at large.

The largest operations were based in İzmir, a western Turkish city where FETÖ's fugitive leader Fetullah Gülen once attracted large masses to his sermons while he was working as a preacher. Prosecutors in the city issued arrest warrants for 176 people, including active-duty soldiers and soldiers retired or dismissed from the army on suspicion of links to the terrorist group, which was behind the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Police launched operations in 49 provinces to capture the suspects, 115 of whom were arrested. Media reports say among the wanted suspects were six F-16 fighter jet pilots and four commanders of gendarme garrisons in towns.

Suspects were identified through their contacts with FETÖ's handlers for military infiltrators via pay phones. FETÖ is known for its utmost secrecy. Even when it was disguised as a religious movement, long before its coup attempts in 2016 and 2013, it managed to keep its secret members out of the public eye. Pay phones were one of the methods used to disguise contacts between its members. A new intelligence report shows that the terrorist group turned to pay phones as early as 2009 to arrange meetings of its infiltrators and their handlers.

In the capital Ankara, prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 31 suspects in a probe on FETÖ's mass infiltration into the Turkish Land Forces. Twenty-two suspects, including non-commissioned officers and four civilian handlers controlling terrorist group's military network, were arrested in operations in 10 cities. Another 14 suspects out of 30 with outstanding arrest warrants were detained in operations based in the central city of Konya. Most of them were active-duty soldiers.

In the Black Sea province of Trabzon, authorities issued arrest warrants for 10 suspects and all were captured in operations in Trabzon and five other cities. Police also detained 30 suspects linked to the terrorist group after prosecutors in the northwestern province of Kocaeli issued arrest warrants. Suspects were employees of courthouses and prisons.

Meanwhile, gendarme units in the northwestern city of Edirne arrested two FETÖ suspects who were attempting to sneak into Greece.

FETÖ posed as a religious group for years under the leadership of Gülen before it disclosed its true intention – to topple the government and create chaos in the country – in 2013 with two plots targeting people close to the government. Turkey managed to stave off these attempts and launched operations against the group, which was designated as a national security threat. In 2016, the terrorist group tried to seize power again, this time by staging a coup attempt with the aid of its infiltrators in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). This attempt was quelled too, and the group faced heightened scrutiny. Police have launched countless operations against the group since the 2016 coup attempt that killed 251 people and injured nearly 2,200 others. Hundreds of military infiltrators were discovered and arrested in investigations while tens of thousands were arrested for links to the group.

The state of emergency declared after the coup attempt sped up the crackdown on the terrorist group's infiltrators. Some FETÖ members managed to flee abroad, while others are believed to still be hiding their ties to the group. Several former members confessed to authorities that senior figures of the group trained them on how to avoid being detected while serving in the army, law enforcement or judiciary.