Turkish police arrest 16 FETÖ suspects

Police arrested 16 suspects late Friday for alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and remanded 39 others in custody.

Police sources said they conducted simultaneous anti-terror operations across Turkey against members of FETÖ, the terror group behind the 2016 defeated coup, and arrested 16 suspects.

The suspects had arrest warrants for being members of an armed terrorist organization.

Police also seized "digital materials" during the operations.

In Ankara, 39 suspects were remanded in custody over an ongoing FETÖ probe.

Meanwhile, 85 FETÖ suspects were brought to Ankara Courthouse by order of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

On Feb. 25, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants for 100 military personnel and a "covert imam", or senior figure in FETÖ, and 85 suspects were arrested.

The arrest warrants had been issued for the suspects for allegedly having contact with "covert imams" by payphone, judicial sources told Anadolu Agency.

The court released 45 of the suspects under judicial control but sent 39 others to prison. Ankara prosecutors released one of the suspects.

Police are still looking for the fugitive suspects.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016 which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

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 judiciary.