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The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has issued arrest warrants for six suspects as part of an investigation into the so-called "secret structure within the judiciary" of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
According to a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office's Bureau of Terror Crimes Investigation, the suspects were found to have contact with FETO’s covert operatives—referred to as “mahrem imamlar”—via operational phone lines. Evidence was gathered implicating all six individuals, including one who is currently an active public official.
A simultaneous operation to apprehend the suspects was launched in Ankara and two other provinces.
The investigation continues as part of Türkiye’s broader efforts to dismantle the remaining structures of FETO following the 2016 coup attempt.
FETO has clandestinely conducted its activities in Türkiye since the 1960s, culminating in the coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which resulted in the death of 252 people and left 2,735 others injured. The attempt was foiled by a rare instance of public resistance to putschists.
Since 2016, FETO has been designated as a terrorist group by Türkiye, as well as by entities such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Pakistan. The group’s U.S.-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, died in October 2024.
Following the failed coup attempt in July 2016, Türkiye had repeatedly requested Gulen’s extradition from the United States, submitting extensive documentation linking him and FETO to the plot. However, U.S. authorities declined the request, stating that the evidence provided did not meet the legal threshold required for extradition.
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