Two judges, one from a high criminal court and the other from the Supreme Court of Appeals, were detained in Ankara on Wednesday on terrorism charges due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement, the Demirören news agency reported.
The high criminal court judge, identified as M.A.Ç., was detained based on information provided by a noncommissioned officer, identified as S.Y., at Turkey’s Naval Forces Command who was also being prosecuted over alleged Gülen links.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
S.Y. claimed that M.A.Ç. was a follower of the Gülen movement who encouraged him to go to a military academy when he finished high school.
An Ankara prosecutor filed a complaint against M.A.Ç. at the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), and the judge was detained as part of investigation launched by the HSK.
The other judge was detained as part of a separate investigation.
Both judges were being interrogated at the Ankara Police Department.
More than 150,000 public servants have been removed from their jobs by the Turkish government due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement since the failed coup while 30,000 people were arrested for the same reason.
Currently, 320 judges and 179 prosecutors in jail due to their alleged links to the movement, according to Justice Ministry data announced by journalist Nedim Şener earlier this week.