The new Turkey
Timeline Gulen movement/FETÖ August 2018

Arrest warrants issued for 27 FETO suspects

Turkish prosecutors on Thursday issued arrest warrants for 27 soldiers suspected of being members to FETO, the terror group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

According to a statement of the Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Ankara arrest warrants were issued for soldiers at the Turkish Naval Forces Command -- five of them serving -- over links to FETO’s so-called "imams".

The soldiers -- including captains, lieutenants and sergeants -- are accused of communicating with FETO members with pre-paid phone cards and pay phones. Police operations were underway to nab suspects across eight provinces in Turkey, the statement added. Source

6 detained in raid targeting entrepreneurs’ association in Turkey’s Antalya

A total of 16 people were taken into custody as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, which the government accuses of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt, media reported Friday.

Detention warrants were issued for 18 people who are alleged to have ties with Antalya-based entrepreneurs’ associations that had been earlier closed under post-coup emergency rule. Police carried out operations at 19 different locations and rounded up 16 of the suspects.

Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people and wounded more than a thousand others. Immediately after the putsch, the government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement. Source

Turkey dismisses over 40,000 military personnel, cadets since coup attempt

The Turkish government has dismissed over 40,000 military personnel including gendarmerie and military cadets over alleged links to the Gülen movement since a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, the tr724 new website reported on Saturday.

According to the report compiled from pro-government newspapers, the highest number of personnel have been dismissed from the Turkish Land Forces, with 8,201. The government has also purged 4,215 military personnel from the Turkish Air Forces and 2,592 military members from the Turkish Naval Forces.

In addition, a total of 16,409 military cadets consisting of 4,090 military high school students, 6,140 students from the Vocational School for Noncommissioned Officers and 6,179 undergraduate students at the Military Academy, the Naval War College, the Air War Academy, the Gülhane Military Medical Academy and the Nursing College were dismissed by the government. Read the full article

Warrants out for soldiers over FETO links

Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for nine on-duty and former military commanders over their alleged links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind July 2016 defeated coup. According to a statement by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in the capital Ankara, the warrants were issued for personnel of the Turkish Land Forces Command -- two of them serving. The suspects are accused of communicating with FETO members with pre-paid phone cards and pay phones periodically, the statement said.

Separately, at least 24 people, including ex-police officers, have been arrested in western Bursa province, police sources said on Monday.

Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had issued arrest warrants for former 25 police officers, who were previously dismissed from their duties for their suspected links to the terror group, said the sources on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. The suspects were rounded up at the city center while the hunt for another suspect is underway.

In a separate anti-terror raid in two locations in Bursa city center, police nabbed 3 more suspected FETO members. One of the suspects were rounded up in the bathroom of a terror group’s house, where he was trying to delete the encrypted messaging application that the group uses, the sources said. On Saturday, 12 more suspected FETO members had been arrested in the organization’s cell houses in the same province. Source

Arrest warrants out for 37 FETO suspects

Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 37 school staffers, including teachers, over their alleged links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 coup attempt. In a statement, Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said it has issued warrants for the managers and teachers working at private schools called “Akilli” [Smart in English] in the capital Ankara.

According to the statement, Idris Yurteri, owner of the private school, who were allegedly using the terror group’s encrypted messaging application ByLock, is among the suspects. The statement noted Yurteri stayed at a hotel in Afyonkarahisar province in 2012 with Gokhan Sahin Sonmezates, who organized the assassination attempt on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Police squads started searching the schools located in 12 different locations in the capital. Separately, one FETO suspect was arrested as part of an anti-terror operation in northwestern Eskisehir province for “being a member of an armed terror organization.” Source

12 Turkish teachers detained as part of post-coup crackdown

At least 12 teachers were taken into custody as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.

Media said Thursday that an Ankara prosecutor issued warrants for 12 teachers who used to work at a school which has been closed over its ties to the movement. Source

Detention warrants issued for 22 military personnel over alleged Gülen links

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday issued detention warrants for 22 military personnel who were dismissed following the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 as part of an investigation into the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

According to the report, 11 of 22 officers have been detained in police operations in five provinces while 3 of the suspects were already noted to be in prison as part of other investigation into the Gülen movement.

The Turkish government has dismissed over 40,000 military personnel including gendarmerie and military cadets over alleged links to the Gülen movement since the failed coup attempt, the tr724 new website reported on Aug. 4.Source

5 FETO suspects arrested near Turkey’s Greek border

Turkish security forces have arrested five suspects with alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt, security sources said on Saturday. 

The suspects, including women, were rounded up in the Edirne province near Turkey’s Greek border while trying to illegally cross to Greece, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media. Some of them were accused of using the terror group’s encrypted messaging app ByLock, the sources added. 

According to the Turkish government, FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary. Source

23 people detained in past week over Gülen links

A total of 23 people have been detained in the past week as part of a crackdown targeting alleged members of the faith-based Gülen movement, according to a statement issued by the Turkish Interior Ministry on Monday.

A total of 17,085 people had been detained over alleged links to the movement by the end of July 2018. Source

Judge who released chief coup plotter sentenced over FETÖ link

Cetin Sönmez, a judge who ordered the release of Adil Öksüz, the fugitive mastermind of the 2016 coup attempt, was sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison for membership of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). FETÖ is accused of using its infiltrators in the military to carry out the July 15, 2016 coup attempt that killed 250 people.

Appearing before a court in the capital Ankara, Sönmez denied charges against him. In earlier hearings, the defendant had claimed he did not "feel it was necessary" to keep Öksüz in custody as another judge had already imposed a travel ban on the suspect. Read the full article

17 FETÖ-linked gendarmerie officers detained in Ankara

A total of 17 gendarmerie officers were detained in capital Ankara on Wednesday for their alleged links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which is accused of behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey. Earlier, Ankara's Chief Public Prosecutor's office had issued arrest warrants for 34 suspects, 2 of whom were on-duty.

The suspects include six majors, two captains, three lieutenants, 14 petty officers of the General Command of Gendarmerie as well as nine civil imams of the FETÖ terror group. Source

High-ranking Gülenist fugitive Kemal Öksüz nabbed in Armenia on US arrest warrant

Kemal Öksüz, a high ranking member of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) dubbed as its "Houston imam," was arrested Wednesday in Armenia over a U.S. arrest warrant issued for breaching congress ethics and fraud.

Öksüz, who changed his name to Kevin after receiving U.S. citizenship, was being sought with a red notice by the Interpol, according Armenpress agency. Öksüz was running a business and an NGO in Armenia, according to the report.

Armenpress reported that Armenian police said Öksüz was being sought since the very first day of being declared wanted, and the Armenian police chief personally supervised the operations. Read the full article

22 warrants issued for soldiers over FETO links

Turkish prosecutors on Friday have issued arrest warrants for 22 active serving and former soldiers, over their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind July 2016 defeated coup. According to a statement from the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in the capital Ankara, the warrants issued are aimed at personnel of the Turkish Air Forces -- including six former pilots. The suspects are accused of communicating with FETO members, the statement said.

So far, eight suspects have been arrested in Ankara-based operations in 14 provinces. Separately, an Istanbul-based operation across 14 provinces saw the arrest of another 15 FETO suspects, according to a police source. The arrests came after the provincial chief public prosecutor’s office issued warrants for 52 suspects for allegedly using ByLock, an encrypted cellphone app used by coup-plotters. Source