Fethullah Gulen: the crackdown against his followers continues in Turkey

Turkey has arrested 60 lawyers and 44 soldiers as it continues its crackdown on people associated with the religious movement led by Fethullah Gulen, accused of masterminding the 2016 aborted coup.

Reports said among those detained are 48 practicing lawyers, seven attorneys undergoing training, a judge who was dismissed from his position, and a law graduate.

Turkish security forces and police reportedly made the arrests in Ankara and Istanbul at dawn on Friday.

Twenty-two of the 44 soldiers have been accused of establishing cells with ties to Gulen within the military, according to an Al Arabiya report.

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Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Gulen – a Turkish Muslim preacher who lives in the US and a former ally – of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016 that was carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces.

Erdogan said Gulen uses his followers to attempt an overthrow of his government.

Since 2016, thousands of people have been held by the government for their alleged involvement in the attempted coup. Many have been jailed.