Turkish police have detained 12 people in Ankara over their alleged links to the Gülen movement, a faith-based group targeted by the government, according to a report by the Velev news website on Thursday.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 13 individuals with alleged ties to the movement based on examinations of digital materials seized during investigations into the group and statements from those who have cooperated under the effective remorse law.
Twelve suspects were detained in an operation conducted by the counterterrorism unit of the Ankara Police Department, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend one person who could not be located at their address.
The operation comes days after the passing of Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement.
The Gülen movement is accused by the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of masterminding a failed coup on July 15, 2016 and is labeled a “terrorist organization,” although the movement denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement 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 the abortive putsch in 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding.
In addition to the thousands who were jailed, scores of other Gülen movement followers had to flee Turkey to avoid the government crackdown.
Turkish authorities routinely rely on witness statements as evidence to identify and prosecute members of the group.
The defendants in the trials against the movement are often encouraged to benefit from the country’s repentance laws allowing for reduced penalties in exchange for denouncing other members of the group.
In recent years, there have also been many reports about the alleged use of torture and ill-treatment in custody to coerce detainees into becoming informants and incriminating others.