Police in western Turkey have detained 19 people for alleged links to the Gülen movement, a faith-based group accused by the government of “terrorist activities,” the Artı Gerçek news website reported on Tuesday.
The detentions took place in İzmir, where the police conducted raids on a number of private homes, the report said.
The detainees were reportedly targeted based on tipoffs accusing them of involvement in the movement, their membership in Gülen-affiliated associations and their transactions at Bank Asya, a financial institution that was shut down by the government in the aftermath of a failed military coup in July 2016.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch in 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
In addition to the thousands who were jailed, scores of other Gülen movement followers had to flee Turkey to avoid the government crackdown.
