Turkish authorities arrest suspect in FETO-linked political blackmail case
Footage of the arrest of suspect U.Y. and the late Deniz Baykal, former leader of the main opposition CHP (Türkiye Daily)
Turkish authorities arrested a suspect in connection with the illegal surveillance and distribution of explicit videos allegedly linked to former CHP Chairman Deniz Baykal and several other politicians, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Monday.
The suspect, identified as U.Y., is accused of recording and publishing compromising footage, as well as illegally wiretapping phone conversations.
Authorities have confirmed that U.Y. was a user of ByLock, an encrypted messaging app associated with the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), and had three outstanding arrest warrants for crimes related to document forgery and abuse of power.
A former senior intelligence officer, U.Y. served in Türkiye’s Intelligence Department from 2008 to 2014 before being dismissed in 2016.
He was apprehended during an operation conducted by the Ankara Counterterrorism and Intelligence Units, who discovered him hiding in a concealed compartment within his home.
“The suspect U.Y., wanted for falsifying official documents, abuse of duty, and FETO-related crimes, has been captured in a joint operation with Ankara’s security forces. He was identified as a ByLock user and had three separate arrest warrants. After extensive surveillance and coordination, our teams located and detained him in a hidden section of his residence.”
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya
Yerlikaya commended the Ankara Governor’s Office, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ankara Police Department for their efforts in the operation.
Concluding his statement, he vowed:
“We will track down every FETO member, one by one.”
