Turkish prosecutors have issued detention warrants for 93 individuals, some of whom are civil servants, over alleged links to the Gülen movement, accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a failed coup in July 2016.
As part of an investigation launched by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, detention warrants have been issued for 89 people who were allegedly responsible for the movement’s “secret services” in the Gendarmerie General Command and four others at the Air Forces Command.
Operations were conducted jointly by the Ankara Police Department and Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) on Friday, as a result of which four people were detained. Police operations were being carried out across 36 provinces in addition to Ankara.
Twenty-nine of the individuals facing a detention warrant due to alleged Gülen movement membership are public servants, and retired or purged military members are included among the others.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding the failed coup and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Since the failed coup, more than 130,000 civil servants have been removed from their jobs by the Turkish government while more than 30,000 people are still in jail due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement.