Turkish officials and a US delegation on Thursday met in the capital Ankara to discuss efforts to counter the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, according to Turkish sources.
FETO’S SO-CALLED IMAM WAS BROUGHT TO THE ROOM
The 11-hour meeting at Ankara Courthouse was attended by Ankara Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Ramazan Dinc, Public Prosecutor Ali Alper Saylan, Turkish Justice Ministry officials, and the US delegation, including FBI officials, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Kemal Batmaz — a so-called civilian imam of the FETO terror group who has been remanded in custody — was brought to the hearing room for questioning, but he reportedly refused to provide any information.
The talks scheduled for Thursday and Friday are seen as important for exposing the role of FETO’s US-based leader Fetullah Gülen and his inner circles. Ankara prosecutors had earlier confirmed that “civilian imams” Batmaz, Adil Oksuz, Hakan Cicek, Harun Binis, and Nurettin Oruc were in the U.S. in January, March, and June of 2016, in the leadup to the July coup attempt. Those figures above are known to have held preliminary talks with Gülen regarding the defeated coup.
FETO and its US-based leader Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.