Turkish prosecutors have issued detention warrants for 75 currently serving, retired and dismissed police officers over their alleged links to the Gülen movement, according to Turkish media reports.
The Gülen movement is accused by the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and is labeled a “terrorist organization,” although the movement denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Detention warrants for seven currently serving, one retired and 67 dismissed police officers were issued by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Police teams are conducting operations across 16 provinces to detain the suspects.
Since the coup attempt, followers of the Gülen movement have been subjected to a massive crackdown, with the Turkish government and pro-government media outlets demonizing its members.
According to a statement from Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu last month, a total of 622,646 people have been the subject of investigation and 301,932 have been detained, while 96,000 others have been jailed due to alleged links to the Gülen movement since the failed coup. The minister said there are currently 25,467 people in Turkey’s prisons who were jailed on alleged links to the Gülen movement.
