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Turkish security forces detained 178 suspects in nationwide operations against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) over the past two weeks, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Friday.
In a statement shared on his NSosyal social media account, Yerlikaya said coordinated operations were carried out in 45 provinces, including Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Bursa and Trabzon, under the direction of public prosecutors and the Police Department’s anti-terrorism (TEM), anti-smuggling and intelligence units.
Of the suspects detained, 67 were arrested and 48 were released under judicial control, Yerlikaya stated, adding that legal proceedings for the remaining individuals are ongoing.
He said the suspects were accused of using the group’s encrypted messaging app, ByLock and being active in FETÖ’s financial, student and military mahrem (secretive) structures. Some were also allegedly in contact with senior members of the group via payphones.
Adding that several suspects had already been identified in previous FETÖ investigations or had outstanding arrest warrants and prison sentences, Yerlikaya stated: “The suspects caught in the operations were wanted for using the organization’s encrypted communication program ByLock, for being active in the terrorist organization’s ‘financial structure, student structure, current structure, military confidential structure and confidential structure,’ and for maintaining contact with responsible persons within the organization through payphones.”
“I congratulate all our security units who contributed to these successful operations,” he concluded his announcement, praising the security forces.
FETÖ, led by U.S.-based deceased Fethullah Gülen, is accused of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye that killed 251 people and injured nearly 2,200. The group is designated a terrorist group by Türkiye.
Turkish security forces have targeted their active members and sleeper cells nonstop, and their influence has been much reduced since 2016. However, the group maintains a vast network, including infiltrators suspected of still operating within Turkish institutions.
The terrorist group faces operations almost daily as investigators still try to unravel their massive network of infiltrators everywhere, especially in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), judiciary, police and other state institutions. In 2024 alone, police apprehended hundreds of FETÖ suspects across the country, including fugitives on western borders trying to flee to Europe.
Turkish authorities also say the group is in turmoil after the death of its leader, Fetullah Gülen, in October last year.
