Turkish security forces arrested 113 people in operations across 41 provinces for alleged links to the outlawed Islamic movement of Fethullah Gülen, accused of plotting a failed military coup in 2016.
Prosecutors in the western İzmir province have issued arrest warrants for 185 suspects, including high ranking military officials and ex-military students, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday.
Turkey says that followers of Islamic cleric Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, masterminded the failed putsch of July 2016. Tens of thousands of civil servants and military personnel have been fired or arrested over links to the group since.
Gülen denies involvement in the coup. The United States has yet to approve a request by the Turkish government to extradite him to face trial.
The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has issued arrest warrants for 3,450 suspects since Nov.19, as part of investigations regarding the group’s alleged structure in the Turkish Armed Forces, Anadolu said. A total of 1,525 people were arrested during 23 operations and 500 suspects were released after being designated as “useful confessors”, it said.
Ahval