Police detained at least 331 Turkish soldiers over the past week in Tekirdağ province as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, which Turkish authorities blame for a failed coup last year, the Hürriyet daily reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, a Tekirdağ court recently issued detention warrants for 331 soldiers as part of an investigation by the Tekirdağ Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Throughout the past week, all of the soldiers were detained by Turkish police in raids in various provinces including İzmir, Ankara, İstanbul, Edirne and Tekirdağ, Hürriyet said.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.
The group strongly denies any involvement.
Yet, Erdoğan launched a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
Turkey’s Justice Ministry announced on July 13 that 50,510 people have been arrested and 169,013 have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.
According to a tally by TurkeyPurge.com, nearly 147,000 people, including some 10,000 soldiers, have been dismissed from government jobs, more than 122,000 detained and almost 57,000 arrested over links to the movement. (Turkey Purge)