Turkish gov’t detains 44 people, mostly military personnel, over alleged links to Gülen movement

The Turkish government led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan detained dozens of people, mostly military personnel, on Wednesday across Turkey as part of its massive post-coup witch hunt targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement.

Police detained 23 military personnel on Wednesday on 11 provinces across Turkey following the issuance of detention warrants by Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office for 32 personnel of Turkish Coast Guard Command, including 2 colonels, 1 captain, 4 lieutenants, 25 non-commissioned officers, over their alleged links to the Gülen movement. It was reported that 4 of the wanted military personnel are on their active duties.

Also on Wednesday, police detained 14 people in Bursa, İstanbul, Kocaeli, Van and Hatay provinces in a Bursa-based investigation targeting the alleged members of the Gülen movement over their alleged use of ByLock mobile phone messaging application.

Turkish authorities believe ByLock is a communication tool among alleged followers of the Gülen movement. Tens of thousands of people, including civil servants, police officers, soldiers, businessmen, and even housewives, have either been dismissed or arrested for allegedly using ByLock since a controversial coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Police also detained 7 people on Wednesday in İstanbul following the issuance of the detention warrants by İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office for 36 people over their alleged use of ByLock as part of Turkish government’s post-coup witch hunt targeting the Gülen movement.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Turkey have been the subject of legal proceedings in the last two years on charges of membership in the Gülen movement since a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, a Turkish Justice Ministry official told a symposium on July 19, 2018.

“Legal proceedings have been carried out against 445,000 members of this organization,” Turkey’s pro-government Islamist news agency İLKHA quoted Turkish Justice Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ömer Faruk Aydıner as saying.

Turkey survived a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016, that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.

Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.

Turkey has suspended or dismissed about 170,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15, 2016. On December 13, 2017, the Justice Ministry announced that 169,013 people have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced on April 18, 2018, that the Turkish government had jailed 77,081 people between July 15, 2016, and April 11, 2018, over alleged links to the Gülen movement.

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from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-govt-detains-44-people-mostly-military-personnel-over-alleged-links-to-gulen-movement/