Turkish prosecutors have issued detention warrants against 695 people suspected of links to the to US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen’s network, which is blamed by Ankara for plotting a 2016 coup attempt.
State media said prosecutors were seeking the detention of 467 alleged Gulen followers suspected of cheating in a police superintendent promotion examination in 2009. Warrants were also issued against 157 non-commissioned military officers. At least 101 of the military personnel were still on active duty in the Air Force or Navy.
In 2016, a group of officers attempted a coup to overthrow president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Some 250 people were killed in the failed attempt.
Since the coup, some 80,000 people have been arrested and around 150,000 others have been fired from state jobs in the crackdown. Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in the US since 1999. He denies involvement in the coup attempt.
However, operations against his network are regularly performed in Turkey, as the authorities say the group remains a national security threat.
Turkey seeks 695 arrests over Gulen links
EPA/OLCAY DUZGUN TURKEY OUT
Members of the Turkish police escort suspects of the Gulen movement during nationwide operations, in Kayseri city, Turkey, 26 April 2017. According to reports on 26 April 2017, Turkey has conducted raids across the country, one of the largest operations in months, arresting over 800 people suspected of being connected to the movement loyal to US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen that lead to a failed coup in July 2016.
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