Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued detention warrants for 94 people as part of a crackdown on followers of the faith-based Gülen movement, with police detaining 49 suspects in a large number of provinces.
The Konya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday issued detention warrants for 56 people over their alleged links to the Gülen movement. Police detained 30 of them during raids in 26 provinces.
Turkish authorities believe the movement orchestrated a coup attempt in 2016, although it denies any involvement.
Some 140,000 public servants have been dismissed and more than 600,000 people investigated on accusations of terrorism since the failed coup.
Police took 13 people into custody in operations in 10 provinces after the issuance of detention warrants for 26 people by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
A statement from prosecutor’s office indicated that these people were using ByLock, a smart phone application regarded as a communication tool among followers of the movement.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday issued detention warrants for 12 people over Gülen links, seven of whom are active-duty military personnel and five were dismissed from the military by government decrees during a now-ended two-year-long state of emergency declared immediately after the coup attempt.
Also, police detained six people in Kahramanmaraş province, including military officers, over their alleged links to the movement.
(Turkish Minute with Stockholm Center for Freedom [SCF])