site.btaTurkish Authorities Detain 62 for Alleged Ties to Fethullahist Terrorist Organization

Turkish authorities have conducted a large-scale operation against alleged members of the so-called Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO), which resulted in 62 arrests, Turkiye's Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya reported in his X account on Sunday morning. Ankara blames FETO, the movement of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, for organizing the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, which ended with tens of thousands of Turks arrested on charges of links to the organization.

The operation was carried out in coordination with republican prosecutors and gendarmerie forces in a total of 32 provinces across Turkiye that included Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Canakkale, Eskisehir, Adana, Antalya, Edirne, Mus, Van, Adiyaman.

The ongoing investigation has established that the detainees are suspected, among other things, of participating in FETO structures, recruiting new members, financing activities, and disseminating propaganda materials on social media.