Key FETO suspect brought back to Turkey

By Kemal Karadag

ANKARA

A key Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) suspect was brought back to Turkey as part of operations against the terror group, security sources said on Sunday.

Yusuf Inan, a FETO-linked social media expert, who fled to Ukraine after the 2016 defeated coup attempt -- was brought to the country following operations conducted by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

Inan allegedly tried to discredit some political figures and state officials in Turkey by carrying out a perception operation on social media.

He was also wanted in western Izmir province for “being a member of an armed organization".

On Thursday, two more figures; Isa Ozdemir, who was apprehended in Azerbaijan, and Salih Zeki Yigit, in Ukraine, were brought to Istanbul following operations by MIT.

Ozdemir and Yigit are suspected of being members of an armed terror organization.

 Turkish intelligence officers last March had brought six alleged senior FETO members back to Turkey following operations against the terror group’s branch in the Balkans, according to security sources.



In cooperation with Kosovar intelligence, Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) arrested the six men, who were said to be in charge of getting FETO members out of Turkey to go to Europe and the U.S.



FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.



Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this story in Ankara