Three former Turkish soldiers, accused of being members of the outlawed Fethullah Gülen movement, who tried to flee to Chios Island in Greece with a jet ski they bought in Kyssos (Κυσσός, Turkish: Çeşme) district of Smyrna (Σμύρνα, Turkish: İzmir), were caught according to Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency.
According to Anadolu Agency, the Turkish Aegean Coast Guard Regional Command teams identified the suspects who tried to escape to Chios Island with a jet ski off Pirlanta Beach in Kyssos district. The 3 suspects, who were stopped by the coast guard teams and brought to the shore, were handed over to the Provincial Police Command officers.
In the examination, it was determined that the suspects were a former lieutenant and former lower ranked officers, who are accused of having membership to the Gülen movement.
It was understood that the suspects came from Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις, Turkish: İstanbul) to Smyrna in order to escape by sea to Greece after buying jet skis there and made explorations in Agios Theologos (Άγιος Θεολόγος, Turkish: Selçuk) and Atarna (Ἄταρνα, Turkish: Dikili) districts as well as Kyssos. The suspects, who were transferred to the courthouse after their apprehension, were arrested and formerly charged.
The Gülen movement is blamed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. Since the coup attempt, hundreds of thousands of Turks have been purged from the military, media, education institutions and elsewhere on accusations of being part of the Gülen movement.
Fethullah Gülen was once a close ally of Erdoğan, but the two famously fell out, leading to the Turkish president to outlaw the US-based Islamic preacher that runs a network of schools all across the world.
