Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday that 110 suspects were captured in the past week in Operation “Clamps-34” against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
The suspects were apprehended in 23 provinces including the capital Ankara and Istanbul, Yerlikaya said in a social media post. They were wanted for being part of the group’s “academic network and military network.” FETÖ, which was behind the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, is known for its widespread infiltration into the public sector, from the judiciary and law enforcement to the army.
Yerlikaya said they were captured in the group’s so-called “absence houses” (safe houses) and were in contact with other members of FETÖ through pay phones, a common method employed by the group to avoid detection. Suspects are also accused of fraud in exams for employment in the public sector and using Bylock, an encrypted messaging app developed and exclusively used by FETÖ members.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and thousands more injured. Gülen died in Pennsylvania, U.S. in October 2024.
The terrorist group, which had infiltrators in law enforcement, the judiciary and the bureaucracy, still has backers in the army ranks and civil institutions, though they managed to disguise their loyalty, as operations and investigations since the coup attempt have indicated.
Hundreds of investigations launched after the attempt sped up the collapse of the group’s far-reaching network in the country. FETÖ was already under the spotlight following two separate attempts to overthrow the government in 2013 through its infiltrators in the judiciary and law enforcement.