National operations have been launched by the Turkish police on from Friday to capture 114 suspects charged of with links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
The suspects are being sought as part of of two investigations of bureau of the attorney general in the capital Ankara. They were identified as “secret imams » for the terrorist group. In FETÖ jargon, secret imams are manipulators for the infiltrated group in many critical places. Those wanted in Ankara-based probes were ‘imams’ for infiltrators in the general command of the gendarmerie and the provincial and district governorates. The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) cooperated with the police to identify the suspects.
Ninety-nine suspects among the wanted would have been the dog handlers for FETÖ infiltrators, mostly military officers, in the gendarmerie forces. Some 73 of them were civil servants who have already been fired from their jobs on suspicion of FETÖ links while the rest was “private employees in the sector” according to the investigators. Fifteen more”secret imams” are wanted in a separate investigation on FETÖ infiltrators in governorates. Seven of them were civil servants who were already investigation for possible terrorist links group.
Several district governors have been suspended from their duties and arrested on charges of FETO membership since the beginning of the investigation over the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by the terrorist group is military infiltrators.
Operations are in progress in 45 provinces to capture the suspects.
Police in Ankara announced on Thursday that they arrested 4,724 suspected members of FETO last year.
While 246 out of 4,724 detained FETÖ suspects were remanded in custody by judges, a total of 1,244 suspects detained charged of terrorism benefited from the “effective remorse” law, he said. The law grants lenient sentences and sometimes release, for terrorism suspects who collaborate with authorities. Thousands of FETÖ members have been identified in the past a few years thanks to information by collaborators.
Like a result of statements of suspects who enjoyed effective remorse, Ankara police identified 19,856 other FETÖ members in 2021.
Besides, with the information received from those who benefited from remorse law, Turkish police in the capital has identified a total of 4,780 FETÖ members not charged, according to the police statement.
