Five FETÖ terrorists arrested fleeing to Greece at Turkish border

Authorities have arrested five members of the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ) and four other fugitives who were trying to flee to Greece, on the border of Turkey’s northwest Edirne province, the Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday. Defense.

FETÖ has been considered a security threat since December 2013, when the terrorist group emerged as the perpetrator of two coup attempts disguised as corruption investigations, and under more intense scrutiny since the coup attempt. State of July 15, 2016 carried out by its infiltrators in the army, which left 251 dead and thousands of others injured.

As a result of the attempt, a state of emergency was declared and tens of thousands of people were arrested, arrested or fired from their public sector jobs.

Prosecutors say the group’s infiltrators in law enforcement, the judiciary, the bureaucracy and the military had waged a long campaign to overthrow the government. The group is also involved in a series of cases related to alleged plots to imprison its critics, money laundering, fraud and counterfeiting.

The terrorist group faces almost daily operations as investigators still try to uncover its vast network of infiltrators everywhere – from the military and police to the justice and bureaucratic system.

In 2024 alone, police have apprehended hundreds of FETÖ suspects across the country, including fugitives on the western borders who were trying to flee to Europe.

An unknown number of FETÖ members, mostly high-ranking figures, fled Turkey when the coup attempt was foiled.

Many members of the group had already left the country before the coup attempt, after Turkish prosecutors opened investigations into other crimes by the terrorist group.

For many FETÖ members, Greece was and remains the easiest destination to flee to as a gateway to Europe, where they are tolerated. FETÖ members typically spend a short time in Greece before moving to other European countries, with Germany being the most popular destination.

Most of them try to flee through the northwestern borders of Edirne. Police have intercepted 3,739 FETÖ fugitives trying to flee to Greece via the land border since July 2016, according to official figures, including 739 FETÖ suspects arrested at the border in 2023 alone.

These fugitives, including deported soldiers, judges, prosecutors, police officers and academics, often attempt to blend in with irregular migrants or collaborate with other terrorist groups such as the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) and the PKK.

In other cases, the group organizes the escape of members who are wanted or about to be sentenced via SIM cards registered under the identities of other people, according to a report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah.

Sabah claimed the group had called on its members in Turkey to leave the country, trying to create the idea of ​​a “hijra”, the mass exodus of Muslims under the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD.

FETÖ prioritizes the “extraction” of members who have occupied critical roles or so-called “private” divisions and who now face risks by remaining in Turkey. Sabah said FETÖ helped these characters escape while leaving the others to fend for themselves.