Turkish Anti-Terrorism Units Detain 75 Persons Affiliated With Gulen Organization- Reports

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2022) Units of the Turkish department for combating terrorism detained 75 people suspected of ties with the organization of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, which Ankara considers terrorist, during nationwide operation carried out at dawn on Monday, Turkish media reported.

The detention came following 10 months of technical and physical surveillance in the course of an investigation conducted by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the city of Adana. The operation was carried out in the cities of Adana, Gaziantep, Ordu, Mersin, Istanbul, Ankara and Bursa. Detained suspects were taken to the police station for interrogation after a health check at the forensics, the Aydinlik newspaper reported.

The investigation established that the detainees held meetings of two different groups within the organization, provided false identity cards for the Gulen movement fugitive members, built student houses and funded the organization through trustee committees, the report said.

In addition, they set up shelters for members with arrest warrants and carried out propaganda through social media to maintain the organization's base and recruit new members, according to the report.

The Turkish government alleged that Gulen was responsible for a coup attempt in 2016. Over 80,000 people have been arrested in Turkey and about 150,000 public officers and military personnel fired or suspended from work over suspected ties to the Gulen movement, considered a terrorist organization by Ankara. Gulen, who has lived in self-exile in the US since 1999, rejected the accusations and condemned the coup attempt.