6th July, 2018
Turkish prosecutors on Friday issued detention orders for 346 people, including active duty soldiers, over alleged links to an Islamic cleric accused of orchestrating the failed 2016 coup attempt, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The country’s armed forces have been hit hard by near daily purges since the failed putsch.
According to the report, “Friday’s order targets suspected members of a terrorist organisation in Istanbul and the Aegean province of Izmir.’’
Ankara brands U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen’s global movement a terrorist organisation.
Gulen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, denies the accusations.
More than 70,000 people have been arrested while over 110,000 have lost their jobs since the 2016 failed coup, due to alleged links to Gulen, according to Anadolu.