The Turkish government has arrested 115 people for suspected links to Gulen Movement, which Turkey has declared a terrorist organization after the 2016 failed coup attempt.
State media reported that prosecutors had issued 176 arrest warrants, including for a pilot, four gendarmerie commanders, and 68 former soldiers who are suspected of having communicated with members of Gulen Movement.
The police operation was launched in 49 provinces throughout the country on Tuesday.
Turkey accuses the movement of masterminding and executing the failed coup d’état of July 15, 2016, which resulted in 251 deaths.
Gulen, a religious leader who has been in self-imposed exile in the US since 1999, denies all accusations involving him with the coup attempt.
Immediately after the coup, Turkey launched a purge against the movement. and tens of thousands of people have been jailed pending trial. More than 150,000 people have been fired from their jobs.
Turkey has also cracked down on members of the movement in countries with weak democracies where it has an influence. Albania and Kosovo have yielded to pressure and deported members of the movement to Turkey, despite concerns of human rights abuses awaiting them. Courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and the US have refused the deportation of Turkish citizens from their countries.
Western democracies have condemned Turkey’s crackdown on those who are suspected of ties to the movement, as well as the lack of an independent judiciary since the coup.
