Turkey: 65 soldiers, police officers held over ties with Erdogan’s late rival Gulen, 2016 coup plot suspect

Turkey arrested 65 soldiers and police officers early Friday over suspected connections to the late preacher Fethullah Gulen, who was accused of orchestrating the failed coup attempt in 2016.

According to The Economic Times report, citing the state-run Anadolu news agency, 56 active-duty members of the Turkish armed forces were taken into custody, while authorities continue to search for seven others.

Separately, Halk TV reported that nine police officers were also arrested, most of them in Istanbul.

“In an operation against the terrorist organisation FETO in 36 provinces centred in Istanbul, 56 of the 63 active-duty soldiers for whom detention orders were issued were captured,” The Economic Times quoted Anadolu as saying.

Turkey refers to Gulen’s Hizmet movement as FETO, short for the “Fethullah Terror Organisation” — a group that once wielded significant behind-the-scenes influence.

Gulen, who died in October, was formerly a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before their relationship turned hostile. He moved to the United States in 1999 and never returned.

Despite his death, Turkish authorities have pledged to continue targeting his followers worldwide.

According to a prosecutors’ statement cited by Halk TV, the latest arrests began at 6 am local time (0300 GMT) in Istanbul and involved members of the air force, gendarmerie, and the army and navy.

With inputs from agencies