Turkey's Ministry of Family launches an investigation on foster families and child homes to determine whether they have links with FETÖ terror group
The Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Policies issued a circular to investigate foster families across the country under a wide-spreading investigation against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).
If the investigation finds these families have any links with the FETÖ terror group, the children they are looking after would be taken from them, according to the ministry circular.
The Turkish authority has been launching a country wide investigation against FETÖ members, following a deadly coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people and injured around 2,500 others.
The coup was planned by the FETÖ members inside the Turkish state institutes along with their allies in private institutes and staged by FETÖ-linked military officials.
Tens of thousands were fired from state institutes, while thousands of FETÖ members were arrested for their direct links with the coup attempt.
Family and Social Policies Ministry said there are 5,000 foster families in Turkey and are investigating their possible links with FETÖ.
Moreover, child homes are also being investigated under the same allegations.
According to an earlier investigation launched immediately after the July 15 coup attempt, the ministry had found some child homes were shifted to a different building or address without ministry approval.
The shifting was done with the local officials' approval, who was later either suspended or arrested for being a FETÖ member.
If the administration of the children's homes are found having any links with this illegal terror group, legal action would be taken against them, the ministry circular read.
