News / Turkey

Turkey detains over dozen officers over affiliation to Gulen movement

Monday, 03 September 2018 4:43 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 03 September 2018 4:47 PM ]

Turkish paramilitary police and army officers escort the alleged instigators of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt before their trial at a courthouse on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, on May 22, 2017. (Photo by the AP)

Turkish Naval Forces have arrested more than a dozen officers on suspicion of affiliation to a movement led by US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Ankara government accuses of having masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspects were detained in the capital Ankara, and that they are believed to have contacted Gulenists via payphones and prepaid mobile phones.

The sources added that the group consists of one major and 12 non-commissioned officers.

On August 31, Turkish security forces detained 23 suspected Gulenists in two separate nationwide operations.

Six former military pilots were among those arrested, while the rest were Turkish Air Forces personnel.

During the 2016 botched putsch, a faction of the Turkish military declared that it had seized control of the country and the government of Erdogan was no more in charge. The attempt was, however, suppressed a few hours later.

Ankara has since accused Gulen of having orchestrated the coup. The opposition figure is also accused of being behind a long-running campaign to topple the government via infiltrating the country’s institutions, particularly the army, police and the judiciary.

In this file picture, Turkish cleric and opposition figure Fethullah Gulen speaks to members of the media at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, the United States. (Photo by the Associated Press)

Gulen has denounced the “despicable putsch” and reiterated that he had no role in it.

“Accusations against me related to the coup attempt are baseless and politically-motivated slanders,” he said in a statement.

The 77-year-old cleric has also called on Ankara to end its “witch hunt” of his followers, a move he says is aimed at “weeding out anyone it deems disloyal to President Erdogan and his regime.”

Turkish officials have frequently called on their US counterparts to extradite Gulen, but their demands have not been taken heed of.

Turkey, which remains in a state of emergency since the coup, has been engaged in suppressing the media and opposition groups suspected to have played a role in the failed coup.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of having links to Gulen and the failed coup. More than 110,000 others, including military staff, civil servants and journalists, have been sacked or suspended from work over the same accusations.

The international community and rights groups have been highly critical of the Turkish president over the massive dismissals and the crackdown.

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