Turkey orders arrest in Gulen-related probe

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70 people, including 58 serving soldiers, are under arrest for allegations of supporting Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric who is accused of orchestrating an attempted coup in July 2016, Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday.

The operation was focused on the central Turkish province of Konya, with police carrying out simultaneous raids at addresses across 27 provinces, state media said.

According to reports, twelve of the 70 suspects had previously been expelled from the Turkish armed forces..

Police operations to detain suspects accused of links to Gulen have been a near daily occurrence since the failed putsch of July 15, 2016, in which the exiled preacher has denied any involvement.

Nearly 500 people arrested in the crackdown following the failed July 15, 2016 coup in Turkey go on trial on July 31, 2017 accused of conspiring to oust the government from an air base seen as the plotters' hub. / VCG Photo‍

Since then more than 50,000 people, including thousands of security personnel and civil servants, have been jailed pending trial and some 150,000 suspended or dismissed from their jobs.

Rights groups say the crackdown has been exploited to muzzle dissent. The government says the measures have been necessary due to the security threats which Turkey has faced since the failed coup, in which 250 people were killed.

(Top photo: Nearly 500 people arrested in the crackdown following the failed July 15, 2016 coup in Turkey go on trial on July 31, 2017 accused of conspiring to oust the government from an air base seen as the plotters' hub. / VCG Photo)

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Source(s): Reuters