Ankara’s Counterterrorism and Organized Crime Bureau on Monday issued detention warrants for 32 people who had previously been dismissed from the Ministry of Health as part of a purge of the Gülen movement.
The bureau, which operates under the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, sent the warrants to police forces in six provinces, culminating in early morning police raids on the residences of the purged civil servants. As of Monday afternoon, 18 had been detained while police are still searching for the other 14.
Turkey has been pursuing a massive purge of real and perceived sympathizers of the faith-based Gülen movement on coup charges. Since a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, over 200,000 people have been the subjects of prosecution according to official figures.