Turkish security forces have arrested dozens of on-duty soldiers on suspicion of affiliation to a movement led by US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Ankara government accuses of having masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspects were detained in the capital Ankara and 15 other provinces across Turkey.
The sources added that the arrests came after the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara issued warrants for 110 soldiers from the Turkish Air Forces Command.
The prosecutor’s office said three colonels, two lieutenant colonels, six majors, three captains, 18 first lieutenants, a second lieutenant and 77 sergeants, are those ordered held in the operations. The remaining 25 suspects are still being sought.
During the 2016 botched putsch, a faction of the Turkish military declared that it had seized control of the country and the government of Erdogan was no more in charge. The attempt was, however, suppressed a few hours later.
Ankara has since accused Gulen of having orchestrated the coup. The opposition figure is also accused of being behind a long-running campaign to topple the government via infiltrating the country’s institutions, particularly the army, police and the judiciary.
In this file picture, Turkish cleric and opposition figure Fethullah Gulen speaks to members of the media at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, the United States. (Photo by the Associated Press)
Gulen has denounced the “despicable putsch” and reiterated that he had no role in it.
“Accusations against me related to the coup attempt are baseless and politically-motivated slanders,” he said in a statement.
The 77-year-old cleric has also called on Ankara to end its “witch hunt” of his followers, a move he says is aimed at “weeding out anyone it deems disloyal to President Erdogan and his regime.”
Turkish officials have frequently called on their US counterparts to extradite Gulen, but their demands have not been taken heed of.
Turkey, which remains in a state of emergency since the coup, has been engaged in suppressing the media and opposition groups suspected to have played a role in the failed coup.
Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of having links to Gulen and the failed coup. More than 110,000 others, including military staff, civil servants and journalists, have been sacked or suspended from work over the same accusations.
The international community and rights groups have been highly critical of the Turkish president over the massive dismissals and the crackdown.
Source: www.presstv.com
