Turkey detains 9 suspects over failed coup in 2016

ANKARA – Turkish police on Tuesday detained nine suspects over their alleged links to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

Ankara chief public prosecutor’s office said the suspects had various roles in the Gulen movement, which the Turkish government accuses of infiltrating the state bureaucracy and then attempting a coup on July 15, 2016.

The suspects held positions within the organization hierarchy such as housekeeper and tradesman, said the prosecutor’s office, presenting evidence such as testimonies, account records and trails left in a communications app.

In a separate operation based in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul, a detention warrant was issued on Tuesday to detain 10 people for allegedly being members of the Gulen movement while serving in the Turkish Armed Forces.

The suspects included private imams, who are accused of communicating and instructing the group’s members, and expelled military students, the agency reported, citing evidence based on phone calls and testimonies. During a simultaneous operation by Turkish police across the city, at least six suspects were detained, the local NTV broadcaster reported.

The Gulen movement, which mainly runs schools around the world, is a community of people named after Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who is regarded by followers as a spiritual leader. Ankara accuses U.S.-based Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the attempted coup in 2016, in which at least 250 people were killed.

Turkey requests the extradition of Gulen, but Washington has declined the demand, saying that Ankara has not presented sufficient evidence against the self-exiled Islamic cleric. The Turkish government has launched a massive crackdown on suspects with links to Gulen’s network in the aftermath of the coup attempt.

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