The new Turkey
Timeline Gulen movement/FETÖ February 2018

107,174 state workers dismissed since failed 2016 coup: Turkish Deputy PM Bozdağ

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said on Jan. 31 that since the failed 2016 coup, more than 107,000 state personnel have been dismissed over alleged ties to the group. 

“The number of personnel dismissed through statutory decrees is 110,778 and the number of people reinstated is 3,604,” leading to a net total of 107,174 people who have been dismissed, Bozdağ told Turkish Parliament’s Interior Commission, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and the judiciary.

“To date, a total of 105,151 people have applied to the State of Emergency Procedures Investigation Commission,” in the wake of the defeated coup, said Bozdağ. Out of rulings on 1,562 people, the commission has ruled in favor of 41 cases and against the rest. Read the full article

Turkish courts jail 39 over FETO links

39 people including former teachers and an academic were convicted and sentenced to jail on Thursday for being members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, according to a security source.

A high criminal court in the Black Sea province of Ordu handed down jail terms to 34 people including former teachers, an academic and businessmen ranging from two to eight years.
In the central Sivas province, Kevser Caran, the wife of a former police officer, was given six years and three months in prison.

In the Black Sea Kastamonu province, a high court sentenced three former teachers to jail terms ranging from two to 12 years in prison.
In the western Izmir province, a former member of the administrative staff of Gediz University, Hakan Mustafa, received a 10-year sentence. They were all accused of being members of a terrorist organization.

188 more detention warrants issued over alleged Gülen links

The İstanbul, Tokat, Konya and Antalya chief public prosecutor’s offices issued detention warrants for 188 people including 12 active-duty military officers in the last 24 hours over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The Interior Ministry announced on Monday that 623 people have been detained in one week due to alleged links to the Gülen movement, bringing the total number of people taken into custody in January to 2,426.

Arrest warrants were issued on Friday for five former police officers suspected of being members of FETO, the terror group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, according to a judicial source.

Istanbul’s 13th Heavy Penal Court ordered the warrants for Ahmet Davulcu, former deputy head of the Organized Crime Division, and former inspectors Muhammed Said Varlioglu, Muhammed Alperen Ozkan, Ahmet Kahraman and Kamil Cetiner, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The arrest warrants came when the court announced its interim decision on a case in which 44 former police officers face charges of membership or a supervisory role in the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and attempting a coup.

Turkey: 40 FETO suspects sought in police exam probe

The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara on Friday issued arrest warrants for 40 suspected members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) as part of a probe into a police exam, a judicial source said.

The warrants were issued as part of an investigation into a 2011 exam for applicant police officers to become chiefs, according to the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media.The suspects, alleged FETO terrorist group members, are suspected of having obtained and distributed test questions beforehand.

During operations conducted across 27 provinces, 21 suspects were arrested, the source said. Simultaneous operations to search for the other suspects are in progress. Source

18 suspects were arrested across Turkey for spreading terrorist propaganda on social media against Turkey’s ongoing military operation in northwestern Syria, security sources said on Thursday.

In an Istanbul-based operation, 9 people were arrested as part of prosecutors' investigation over the spread of propaganda against the operation, and over the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) propaganda, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
In the central province of Eskisehir, 5 suspects were arrested in simultaneous operations. The suspects were accused for spreading PKK terror propaganda on social media, inciting hatred and enmity among people, and insulting the president.

In the southern Antalya province, police arrested4 suspects in the Kepez district, while another was arrested in the western Aydin province.
Separately, 4 suspects, charged with “spreading terrorist propaganda”, were remanded in custody in western Bursa, southeastern Adiyaman, Gaziantep, and Igdir provinces.

13 detained in Samsun over alleged Gülen links

Turkish police on Saturday detained 13 people in the Salıpazarı district of Samsun province over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

On Friday, the İstanbul, Bolu and Ankara chief public prosecutor’s offices issued detention warrants for 108 people including 12 active-duty military officers for suspected ties to the movement.

The Interior Ministry announced on Monday that 623 people have been detained in one week due to alleged links to the Gülen movement, bringing the total number of people taken into custody in January to 2,426. A total of 62,895 people were detained in 2017 as part of investigations into the movement, according to Interior Ministry reports.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Jan. 5 that 48,305 people were jailed in 2017 alone over Gülen movement links. Read the full article

[OPINION] Erdoğan has ruined the lives of 1 million people in Turkey

According to Bozdağ, 103,907 criminal investigations remain pending on charges of membership in and being an administrator of the Gülen movement.
In terms of crimes against the constitutional order of the Republic of Turkey, in other words, coup plotting charges, there are 4,725 cases with a total of 11,228 suspects named.
Criminal cases that combine both terrorism and coup plotting charges have 7,436 listed as suspects in 2,913 cases.
In total, 214,442 people are considered to be suspects in 105,709 separate criminal investigations in Turkey. The total number of fugitives stands at 14,191. Read the full article

Over 20 FETO suspects arrested across Turkey

Police rounded up 5 suspects including dismissed judges, prosecutors and attorneys in the central Tokat province, according to a police source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. The operation came after Tokat Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into FETO/PYD’s infiltration into the judiciary, the source added.

Separately, Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant for 8 suspects for alleged links to FETO and using ByLock, an encrypted mobile phone messaging application used by coup plotters during and after the defeated coup attempt, the source added. Also, in southern Adana province five suspects were arrested in various raids.

In another operation targeting FETO's school structure in northwestern Edirne province 5 suspects were arrested for alleged links to the terror group, a police source said. Police also seized computers and documents belonging to the suspects during the raid. As part of a probe into FETO/PYD’s military structure in northern Amasya province 5 suspects were arrested, a police source said. 3 suspects, including a non-commissioned officer, were also arrested in Mardin, Ankara, and Kirsehir provinces following an arrest warrant issued by Kirsehir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, a police source said. Source

518 detained in one week over Gülen movement links

The Turkish Interior Ministry announced on Monday that 518 people have been detained in the past week due to alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Turkish police detained a total of 2,426 people over alleged links with the movement in first month of 2018. A total of 62,895 people were detained in 2017 as part of investigations into the movement, according to Interior Ministry reports.

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on Jan. 5 said 48,305 people were jailed in 2017 alone over Gülen movement links. Source

46 more military personnel detained over Gülen links

46 more military members have been detained in the last 24 hours over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, as part of investigations launched by the Kastamonu, Adıyaman and Merzifon chief public prosecutor’s offices, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Source

100 acquitted, 64 given life sentences in military academy coup trial

An Ankara court has ruled for the acquittal of 100 suspects while handing down life sentences to 60 others and aggravated life sentences to four suspects in a trial concerning incidents that took place at the Turkish military academy in Ankara on the night of a failed coup attempt in July 2016.

The trial, which was heard by the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court, was concluded on Wednesday.

Among the 164 suspects indicted, 156 were military cadets while eight were high-ranking officers.

They were facing coup charges as well as attempting to destroy the constitutional order.
Turkey experienced a military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people and wounded more than a thousand others. Source

FETÖ's 2015 messages a harbinger of deadly coup attempt

Top jurist linked to FETÖ captured in group's safe house

Police in western Turkey captured a high-ranking judge and 20 others linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) yesterday in raids on safe houses used by the group, known as "gaybubets."

Mehmet Kaya, former secretary-general of the powerful Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), who also served as a member on the Court of Appeals, was captured in Çanakkale province. Other suspects were nabbed in raids on 14 safe houses in Çanakkale and İzmir. Police found a large cache of foreign currencies and Turkish lira in the suspects' possession. Read the full article

Finnish documentary helps Turkish police to nab FETÖ suspects

Police in Istanbul detained a couple linked to the group thanks to a TV show aired by Finnish public broadcaster YLE. Last month, YLE aired a documentary on the couple, who praised the terrorist group.

Although the TV station blurred the faces of the interviewees, police located them in Istanbul's Esenyurt district thanks to easily identifiable buildings seen in the background while the interviewees spoke at their home in the documentary and a street where the husband drove around as the TV crew shot the daily life of them.

The couple was captured by police on Jan. 11, and were identified as Serdar A. and Merve A., former teachers at a FETÖ-linked school closed after the 2016 coup attempt. Serdar A. was remanded to custody for membership in a terrorist group and propaganda for a terrorist group while his wife was released. Source

Academics, doctors detained for watching Gülen speech

Turkish police on Friday detained seven people, including two academics and three doctors, for watching a video of a speech by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen on their mobile phones in a car in Adıyaman province, Hurriyet reported. Source

General, 9 others sentenced to life for 2016 FETÖ coup attempt

A court in eastern Turkey sentenced 10 former soldiers, including a general, to life in prison on Friday for their involvement in the 2016 coup attempt perpetrated by FETÖ

Turkey wrapped up another week of trials on the July 15, 2016 putsch attempt blamed on the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) with life sentences handed down to those involved in the bid. A brigadier general and six other officers were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment, while another four were given life imprisonment for the attempt.

All of the defendants were pro-coup soldiers stationed in Ağrı, an eastern province. The court in the province also sentenced four more defendants to 12 years and six months in prison in the same case. The defendants included Mehmet Ozan, a brigadier general of the First Armored Brigade deployed in the Doğubeyazıt district on the Turkish-Iranian border.

They denied the allegations throughout the hearings and claimed they were "following the orders of their superiors." Source

Former Istanbul governor, ex-police chief get jail terms over terror-linked charges

A former governor of Istanbul and a former police commissioner in the province were given jail terms on Feb. 9 for their links to Fethullahist  Terror Organization (FETÖ), state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing an unnamed judicial source. 

The 30th Heavy Criminal Court in Istanbul sentenced former Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu to three years, one month and 15 days in prison in a trial against FETÖ’s structure in civil service, said the official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media. 

Mutlu was later released by the court, considering the duration he served in the jail. 

The former Police Commissioner Huseyin Capkin was also sentenced to two years and one month in prison, the official said. Mutlu is accused of “being a member of armed terror organization” and Çapkın is accused of “willfully helping the organization, despite not being involved in the organization’s hierarchical structure.” Read the full article

More than 38,000 FETÖ-linked persons remanded, convicted in Turkey: Minister

Some 38,470 Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ), 10,079 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and 1,354 Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) members have been remanded or convicted in Turkey, Turkish justice minister Abdulhamit Gül said on Feb 10.

Gül said more than 4 million probes were launched by prosecutors in 2017.

More than 6 million new cases were heard by the high criminal courts in 2017, Gül added.

On Jan. 9, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu had said total of 48,305 people were arrested across Turkey in 2017 for suspected links to FETÖ.

“The number of those detained is nearly three times higher,” Soylu had told a security meeting in Istanbul. “Even these figures are not enough to reveal the severity of the issue,” Soylu had said. Source

35 more detained in 6 provinces over alleged Gülen links

Turkish police on Saturday detained 35 people including six lawyers as part of an investigation into the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

According to the report police raided 40 homes in six provinces as part of an Adana-based investigation. The detainees are suspected of having used a smart phone application known as ByLock.

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Sentences handed down to 205 alleged coup plotters in trials in Ankara

Various sentences including aggravated life and life in prison have been handed down to alleged coup plotters in trials taking place in Ankara.

The first investigations into the alleged coup plotters were launched in the early hours of July 16, 2016, and the suspects appeared in an Ankara court for the first time on Feb. 6, 2017.

Up until the present time, nine coup trials have been concluded in which 148 suspects, most of whom are military cadets, have been acquitted.

In a statement on Feb.10, Turkish Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül said there were 38,470 people in Turkey’s prisons who were arrested or convicted due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement. Source

568 detained in one week over alleged Gülen movement links

The Turkish Interior Ministry announced on Monday that 568 people have been detained in the past week due to alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Gülen followers flee Turkey for their lives – IB Times

Followers of the exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen are fleeing Turkey as refugees out of fear for their lives, Isabelle Gerretsen reported the International Business Times on Monday. Gülen, an Islamist cleric who leads a hugely-influential international organisation from his self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, is widely believed in Turkey to have masterminded the failed July 2016 coup attempt.

In the coup attempt’s aftermatch, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) began far-reaching purges under a state of emergency that have affected hundreds of thousands of citizens associated with Gülen. Gerretsen’s piece included interviews with several families who chose to risk the journey to Greece as refugees, rather than awaiting the purge in Turkey. Read the full article

Detention warrants issued for 54 over alleged Gülen links in exam fraud case

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Ankara on Feb. 17 issued detention warrants for 54 people across Turkey for their alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), widely believed to have been behind the July 2016 failed coup attempt. 

The warrants were issued for the suspects as part of a probe into the Police Academy Entrance Exam in 2012, according to a statement, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

The statement added that the suspects had procured the test paper ahead of the exam and later took jobs in the Turkish police.  The suspects are accused of "fraud" and "being member of an armed terror organization." Police has launched operation in 33 provinces to detain the suspects. Source

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Jailed Turkish journalists Nazlı Ilıcak and Altan brothers sentenced to life in jail

The 26th High Criminal Court in Istanbul has handed the heaviest penalty possible to six defendants, including prominent journalists Nazlı Ilıcak, Ahmet Altan and his younger brother Mehmet Altan, on charges of “trying to abolish the constitutional order of the Republic of Turkey by resorting to the use of force and violence.”

In the final hearing that took place in the Silivri district of Istanbul on Feb. 16, Ilıcak, the Altan brothers, Fevzi Yazıcı, Şükrü Tuğrul Özşengül and Yakup Şimşek were found guilty and given aggravated life sentences. The aggravated life sentence means they will be in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours per day, without parole, and with limited visits from outside.

Another suspect in the case, Tibet Murat Sanlıman, was acquitted. The panel of judges decided against any good conduct abatement for any of those found guilty. Read the full article

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Detention warrants issued for 361 more people over Gülen links

The Istanbul, Konya, Mersin and Malatya chief prosecutor’s offices on Tuesday issued detention warrants for a total of 361 people including 170 retired, purged and active duty military personnel over alleged links with the faith based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

According to the reports, 158 of 361 have been detained so far during operations across Turkey.
Turkish police detained a total of 2,426 people over alleged links to the movement in the first month of 2018. Read the full article