Turkey’s Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) has disbarred four prosecutors and one judge due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement, local media reported.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding a failed coup on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
The HSK’s decision on the judges and the prosecutor, whom the HSK found to have links to the Gülen movement without providing any details, was published in the Official Gazette on Friday. The board removed five other prosecutors from their jobs earlier this week for the same reason.
More than 130,000 public servants, including more than 4,500 judges and prosecutors, were removed from their jobs during a two-year state of emergency imposed following the coup attempt under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. However, state agencies continue to fire public servants on the grounds that they have links to the Gülen movement.
Since the coup attempt, followers of the Gülen movement have been subjected to a massive crackdown, with the Turkish government and pro-government media outlets demonizing its members.
A total of 319,587 people have been detained and 99,962 arrested in operations against supporters of the Gülen movement since the coup attempt, Turkey’s Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced in November.