Turkey orders arrest of scores of municipality, ministry staff
Turkish authorities on Wednesday ordered the detention of 139 staff members of Ankara municipalities and two ministries in an investigation targeting supporters of the U.S.-based cleric accused of being behind July’s failed coup. Since the attempted putsch, authorities have jailed pending trial 50,000 people and sacked or suspended 150,000 from a wide range of professions […]
Turkish authorities on Wednesday ordered the detention of 139 staff members of Ankara municipalities and two ministries in an investigation targeting supporters of the U.S.-based cleric accused of being behind July’s failed coup.
Since the attempted putsch, authorities have jailed pending trial 50,000 people and sacked or suspended 150,000 from a wide range of professions including soldiers, police, teachers and public servants.
Authorities said they were dealt with in various ways over alleged links to what the government calls terrorist organisations.
Government also noted that detention warrants were issued for 60 staff at the Ankara city council, 19 at district councils, 30 staff at the development ministry and 30 at the education ministry.
However, the cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. for almost 20 years, has denied involvement in the putsch.
Ankara accuses Gulen, a former ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, of infiltrating Turkish institutions, including the judiciary, police and military in a decades-long campaign. Government critics say the post-coup crackdown has been used to crush dissent.
The media said the municipality staff, some of whom had previously been dismissed from their jobs, were found to have used ByLock, an encrypted messaging app the government says was used by Gulen’s followers. (Reuters/NAN)