The first meeting of the parliamentary Research Commission, investigating a failed coup on July 15 in Turkey, was held in Parliament on Tuesday.
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Burdur deputy Reşat Petek was elected head of the commission by the votes of AKP deputies, who constitute the majority of the group.
The AKP government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame for the putsch on the Gülen movement, a civil society movement inspired by US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Despite Gülen and the movement having denied the accusation, Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government launched a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
Thousands of people have been purged from state bodies, over 44,000 detained and more than 24,000 arrested since the coup attempt. Arrestees include journalists, judges, prosecutors, police and military officers, academics, businessmen, governors and even a comedian.