Turkish courts jail 39 over FETO links

Thirty-nine people including former teachers and an academic were convicted and sentenced to jail on Thursday for being members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, according to a security source.

A high criminal court in the Black Sea province of Ordu handed down jail terms to 34 people including former teachers, an academic and businessmen ranging from two to eight years.

In the central Sivas province, Kevser Caran, the wife of a former police officer, was given six years and three months in prison.

In the Black Sea Kastamonu province, a high court sentenced three former teachers to jail terms ranging from two to 12 years in prison.

In the western Izmir province, a former member of the administrative staff of Gediz University, Hakan Mustafa, received a 10-year sentence.

They were all accused of being members of a terrorist organization.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara 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.