Norway Grants Asylum To 5 Feto Suspects

Norway has accepted the asylum requests of five Turkish military officers suspected of links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), according to local media.



Government-owned news broadcaster NRK reported Wednesday that four military officers and a military attaché working at NATO bases had requested asylum after the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey which Ankara has said was orchestrated by FETO.



Their lawyer Kjell M. Brygfjeld has confirmed that the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration has accepted his clients' requests and granted them residence and work permits.



FETO, led by United States-based Fetullah Gulen, has been accused of orchestrating the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 that left 249 people martyred, and around 2,200 others wounded.



Turkey's government accuses the FETO terror network of staging the coup attempt as well as being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.



Since the foiled coup, operations have been ongoing in the military, police and judiciary, as well as in other state institutions across the country, to arrest suspects with alleged links to FETO.



Tens of thousands of police officers, military service personnel and other public employees have been arrested.



Last month, an Interior Ministry spokesman said more than 130 Turkish citizens -- including former soldiers, diplomats and their family members -- had sought asylum in Germany since the failed putsch. -