The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday issued detention warrants for 68 members of Aksiyon-İş, a confederation of union that was closed by the government following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, over links to the faith-based Gülen movement, the pro-government Sabah daily reported.
According to the report, 68 people were executives of six unions under the umbrella of Aksiyon-İş. Fifty-one of the 68 sought have been detained in operations in 11 provinces.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had on Jan. 4 issued detention warrants for 67 members of Aksiyon-İş.
The Gülen movement is accused by the Turkish government of mounting a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, but the movement strongly denies any involvement.
A total of 62,895 people were detained in 2017 as part of witch-hunt targeting the Gülen movement.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Dec. 12 that 55,665 people have been jailed and 234,419 passports have been revoked as part of investigations into the movement since the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
Minister Soylu on Nov. 16 had said eight holdings and 1,020 companies seized as part of operations against the movement.
The Justice Ministry announced on July 13 that 169,013 people have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.
Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15 through government decrees issued as part of an ongoing state of emergency.
According to Ministry of Justice data, there are currently 384 prisons with a capacity of 207,279 in Turkey; however, the total number of inmates was 228,983 as of October 2017.
The Ministry of Justice plans to build 228 new prisons with a capacity of 137,687 in the next five years.
