Security forces have arrested 74 suspects in a nationwide operation against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) in the past four days.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Monday shared on social media that Operation Clamp-22 was carried out in Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Aksaray, Bartın, Bursa, Eskişehir, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Giresun, Hakkari, Isparta, İzmir, Karaman, Kocaeli, Konya, Kütahya, Kırşehir, Malatya, Manisa, Mersin, Ordu, Sakarya, Sivas and Şanlıurfa as well as Tokat.
FETÖ has been under more intense scrutiny since the July 15, 2016, coup attempt its infiltrators in the army carried out, which left 251 people dead and thousands more injured.
The 74 suspects were determined to be part of the terrorist organization’s justice, military, police and current structure.
It was further detected that the suspects communicated with the secret imams of the organization via payphones, that they were users of the organization’s crypto communication program ByLock, that their names were mentioned in the statements and identifications of previously detained suspects, and that they had a finalized prison sentence and a search warrant.
Huge numbers of foreign currency, Turkish lira and gold were confiscated during the operations as well as digital material which will be investigated.
Yerlikaya congratulated the police force carrying the operation out and added: “We will clamp down FETÖ members. With the prayers and support of our beloved nation, our operations against terrorist organizations and their collaborators will continue with determination.”
The terrorist group faces operations almost daily as investigators still try to unravel their massive network of infiltrators everywhere. In 2024 alone, police apprehended hundreds of FETÖ suspects across the country, including fugitives on western borders trying to flee to Europe.
Many of the group’s members had already left the country before the coup attempt after Turkish prosecutors launched investigations into other crimes of the terrorist group.
These fugitives, featuring expelled soldiers, judges, prosecutors, police officers and academics, often try to blend in with irregular migrants or collaborate with other terrorist groups like the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) and the PKK.
Two days ago, Yerlikaya said that some 16% of fugitive members of FETÖ are believed to be in the United States and 23% in Germany.
“Thanks to investigations done within our ministry, 44,444 individuals have been dismissed from various units, and precautionary measures continue for 849 individuals,” he told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Since he came to office after the general elections in 2023, in 6,025 operations targeting FETÖ members, 9,738 individuals were detained, 1,697 were arrested and judicial control measures were imposed on 2,036 individuals.
