Fifteen employees and executives from a private security company have been detained as part of an İstanbul-based operation targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement, the TR724 news website reported.
The investigation targeting the Hisar Security Company, allegedly established by former executives of Kaynak Holding, is being conducted by the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in İstanbul.
The detentions took place across three provinces.
Kaynak Holding was seized by the Turkish government in November 2015 due to its links to the Gülen movement.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members, and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch on July 15, 2016. He accuses the movement of masterminding the coup attempt while the movement strongly denies any involvement in the failed putsch.