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Detention warrants issued for 51 people over education foundation donations

The Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday issued detention warrants for 51 people on accusations of making donations to a Gülen movement-linked foundation supporting students at universities that were closed by government decree following a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, the pro-government Sabah daily reported.

According to the report 33 of the 51 people sought have been detained by police during operations in six provinces, while 18 are still at large.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government pursued a crackdown on the Gülen movement following corruption operations in December 2013 in which the inner circle of the government and then-Prime Minister Erdoğan were implicated.

Erdoğan also accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding the failed coup attempt in July 2016.

Despite the movement strongly denying involvement in the coup attempt, Erdoğan launched a witch-hunt targeting the movement following the putsch.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on April 18 that at least 77,081 people have been put in pretrial detention over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement since a failed coup attempt in 2016.

Soylu said on Dec. 12 that 234,419 passports have been revoked as part of investigations into the movement since the failed coup.

On Nov. 16 Soylu had said eight holdings and 1,020 companies were seized as part of operations against the movement.

The number of people who have been investigated for alleged ties to the faith-based Gülen movement reached 402,000 in March, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on March 15.

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