Ankara prosecutor launches coup probe in Turkish media

By Aylin Sirikli, Zafer Fatih Beyaz

ANKARA

The chief public prosecutor’s office in Ankara launched an investigation Thursday into hundreds of employees who were suspended from Turkey’s national public broadcaster and the nation’s broadcasting watchdog, linked to the coup attempt last week.

The broadcasting authority issued a statement that said "29 personnel working in various positions as part of an investigation into the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO),” had been fired from the Supreme Court of Radio and Television, or RTUK.

At the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, or TRT, approximately 300 personnel were suspended as part of the same probe.

Staff in question at both media organizations are accused of being members of the FETO terror organization.

At least 246 people, including members of the security forces and civilians, were martyred in Istanbul and Ankara, and more than 1,500 others were wounded as they protested the attempted coup.

Turkey's government said the coup attempt was organized by followers of U.S.-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, who is accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through infiltrating Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming the so-called “parallel state.”

*Anadolu Agency correspondent Ahmet Sait Akcay contributed to this report from Ankara