Turkey detains 57 in raid against Istanbul stock exchange
Turkey has detained 57 people in an operation against the Istanbul stock exchange as part of an ongoing investigation into last July’s failed coup.
The individuals were detained in six different provinces on Friday, with over 100 arrest warrants issued, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
The detainees are suspected of association with the followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based opposition preacher.
Gulen is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s former ally-turned-archfoe and is accused by Ankara of having masterminded the coup. Gulen denies the charges.
The Haberturk daily said on its website that those held were former employees of the stock exchange suspected of using an encrypted messaging application called Bylock, which Turkey claims was especially created for Gulen supporters. They are also accused of performing transactions on behalf of Bank Asya, a bank once closely affiliated with Gulen.
As part of the post-coup clampdown, around 47,000 people have been remanded in prison and more than 100,000 public sector employees summarily dismissed in Turkey.
Since the putsch, Ankara has closed down at least 156 media outlets, while an estimated 2,500 journalists and other media workers have lost their jobs.
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On May 3, UK-based rights body Amnesty International criticized Turkey’s post-coup state of emergency, which allows lengthy periods of pre-trial detention.
Last month, Erdogan won a referendum awarding him far-and-wide powers as part of a presidential system to replace the country’s parliamentary one.
Following the failed coup, Erdogan has been also floating the restoration of capital punishment, in another move prompting international criticism.
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