Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday ordered the detention of 80 people as part of a large-scale post-coup crackdown targeting followers of the faith-based Gülen movement.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 29 people, including attorneys and former judges, on allegations of Gülen links.
The prosecutor’s office accuses the suspects of cheating in examinations for the bench in 2013 with the help of individuals inside the Gülen movement.
The police raided houses in 21 provinces and detained at least 14 suspects, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Turkey accuses the movement of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt, although it strongly denies any involvement.
The İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also issued detention warrants on Tuesday for 51 suspects on claims of Gülen links.
The suspects are accused of using ByLock, a smartphone application that was believed to be used among followers of the Gülen movement.
Among the suspects are lawyers, former police officers, teachers, academics, shopkeepers and engineers, the report said, adding that at least 36 of them were detained by the police.
Since the coup attempt, nearly 600,000 people in Turkey have been the subject of investigations on terrorism allegations.
