The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday issued detention warrants for 219 active duty military members as part of an investigation into the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The prosecutor accused them of secretly communicating via pay phone, a method that Turkish authorities believe was a way of maintaining ties with the movement.
Meanwhile, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 48 people including defense industry staff over Gülen links.
Some of the suspects were dismissed by government decree from their jobs at the Defense Ministry and Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK).
The Turkish government believes the Gülen movement orchestrated a failed coup in 2016, although the movement strongly denies it.
Some 140,000 public servants have been dismissed since the abortive putsch due to alleged Gülen links, and more than 600,000 people have been investigated on allegations of terrorism.