A niece and a nephew of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen have joined the growing ranks of family members of the cleric who have been imprisoned as part of a post-coup witch hunt being carried out by the government.
H.G. and B.G. were detained in İzmir for using the ByLock mobile app, which Turkish prosecutors claim is a primary tool among sympathizers of the Gülen movement.
The government pinned the blame for the July 15 coup attempt on the movement, detained 72,000 people and arrested 34,000 over their links to the movement.
The movement denies involvement, demanding to see concrete evidence to that effect.
A number of Gülen’s relatives have been put behind bars since July 15.
Critics have lambasted the government for a massive purge it is carrying out that violates the principle of individual criminal responsibility. (Turkey Purge)