Former Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Manisa deputy Zeynel Balkız was arrested together with eight others in Manisa province on Friday as part of an ongoing witch-hunt against the faith-based Gülen movement.
Balkız was detained along with 11 lawyers on Aug. 10 in Manisa. Three of the lawyers were later released by the court under judicial supervision.
Turkey survived a military intervention on July 15 that killed over 240 and wounded more than 2,000 people. Immediately after the coup attempt, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the government pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.
Despite the fact that the movement as well as Gülen deny the accusation, over 41,000 have been detained and more than 22,000 have been arrested since the coup attempt. Arrestees include journalists, judges, prosecutors, police and military officers, businessmen, academics, governors and even a comedian.