Turkish prosecutors in Ankara, İstanbul and İzmir ordered the detention of 141 alleged followers of the faith-based Gülen movement on Tuesday in the latest round of detentions, part of a large-scale post-coup crackdown.
Turkey accuses the movement of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt, although it strongly denies any involvement.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday ordered the detention of 25 former noncommissioned officers from the Turkish Air Forces over alleged Gülen links.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said 18 of the suspects were detained in police raids in 14 provinces.
In İstanbul prosecutors issued detention warrants for 62 suspects, most of whom were active duty Turkish Armed Forces members, over alleged ties to the Gülen movement.
According to Anadolu, 30 of them, including civilians and former soldiers, were detained in 16 provinces.
İzmir prosecutors also issued detention warrants for 54 people, 30 of whom were active duty Turkish noncommissioned officers, over alleged Gülen ties.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on July 15, on the fourth anniversary of the failed putsch, that a total of 282,790 people have been detained on coup-related charges, with 94,975 of them arrested, since the coup attempt.
Meanwhile, the Turkish coast guard apprehended 22 people who were illegally trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos. Anadolu said 13 of them were detained over alleged ties to the Gülen movement.
Thousands have fled Turkey since the failed coup, escaping the post-coup crackdown.
