Turkish police detained 12 people on Friday in Kayseri and Tokat provinces as part of the government’s post-coup witch hunt targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement.
According to a report by the state-run Anadolu news agency, counterterrorism police conducted an operation on Friday at a vineyard in central Kayseri province, where 10 people were detained.
The detainees, who were reported to have been previously released by a court pending trial in a case involving their alleged links to the Gülen movement, are suspected of trying to re-establish connections with other alleged members of the movement.
Two people were also detained in Tokat province on Friday over their alleged links to the movement.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating a failed coup on July 15, 2016, although the movement strongly denies any involvement.
Operating under the pretext of the foiled coup attempt, Turkey launched a crackdown on the movement in which some 400,000 people have been investigated, according to the Justice Ministry.
(Turkish Minute with Stockholm Center for Freedom [SCF])