Turkish police detained 32 individuals in their homes on Tuesday over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement in a series of coordinated operations conducted in four provinces, the state-run TRT Haber news website reported.
The detention warrants were issued by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The accusations against the detainees include being active members in the Gülen movement and seeking to provide financial support to the movement.
In operations performed in İzmir, Manisa, Aydın and Zonguldak, police seized 546,000 Turkish lira ($15487), $26,316 and 3,295 euros in cash, checks worth 3.25 million Turkish lira ($92186), gold coins and the detainees’ electronic devices.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by late Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, since corruption investigations revealed in December 2013 implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan as well as some members of his family and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and a conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch that he accused Gülen of masterminding. The movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Since the coup attempt, more than 705,172 people have been investigated on terrorism related charges due to their alleged links to the movement. There are at least 13,251 people in prison who are being held in pretrial detention or convicted of terrorism charges in Gülen-linked trials.
In addition to the thousands who were jailed, scores of other Gülen movement followers had to flee Turkey to avoid the government crackdown.
