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Governance/Geopolitics
Turkish police arrest 14 people over suspected links to Gulen movement: Reports

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 23 Aug 2019, 04:46 pm Print

Turkish police arrest 14 people over suspected links to Gulen movement: Reports

Moscow (Sputnik/UNI) Turkish police have arrested 14 people suspected of having links to US-based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen's movement, referred to as the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) by Ankara, Turkish media reported on Friday.

The simultaneous raids on 19 addresses began early on Friday following the order of the prosecutors in the province of Izmir, according to the Anadolu news agency.
The police reportedly seized fake IDs, cellphones and tablets. Some of the suspects tried to escape and destroy documents.

The suspects are also accused of using FETO's encrypted messenger, ByLock.

Ankara has accused FETO of masterminding the 2016 coup attempt that left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured. In the aftermath of the short-lived rebellion, the Turkish government announced a state of emergency as a necessary measure to counter terrorists. Since then, over 50,000 people have been arrested and more than 160,000 civil servants, including military personnel, activists, officials, journalists, legal and educational workers, have been dismissed or suspended.