Turkey coup attempt: Number of people detained passes 26,000 amid international concern over crackdown


Date posted: August 9, 2016

Lizzie Dearden

Turkish authorities are arresting people for links to the Gulen movement, which denies involvement.

The number of people detained by Turkish authorities following the failed coup to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has passed 26,000.

The justice minister, Bekir Bozdag, told the state-run Anadolu Agency that 16,000 of those had been formally arrested and taken into custody while 6,000 detainees were being processed and almost 8,000 suspects remain free but under investigation.

Mr Bozdag did not give details on the status of the remaining 4,000 suspects out of the 26,000 reportedly detained and it was unclear whether any had been released.

Thousands of members of the armed forces, police, judiciary, civil service and public sector have been removed from their posts over alleged links to the Gulen or “Hizmet” movement, which was blamed for the coup.

Around 50,000 passports were cancelled, journalists and academics have been arrested and more than 130 media outlets were shut down.

Authorities say the attempt on 15 July was staged by a military faction loyal to the exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, but he has denied any involvement.

Hundreds of soldiers armed with fighter jets, helicopters and tanks took control of key areas of the capital while Mr Erdogan was on holiday but were defeated after the President flew into Istanbul to make a defiant speech against an “act of treason and rebellion”.

Western governments and human rights groups have condemned the coup attempt, in which at least 246 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured, and also expressed concern over the extent of the crackdown tightening Mr Erdogan’s grip on power.

…..

The Director of US National Intelligence, James Clapper, warned that the purges were hampering the fight against Isis by sweeping away Turkish officers who had worked closely with international partners.

Talks over Turkey’s possible accession to the EU have been strained amid the continuing crackdown, with foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu threatening to back out of the refugee deal if visa-free travel is not granted and the EU responding with accusations of “blackmail”.

The EU demands that Turkey fulfil a list of criteria including amending its anti-terrorism laws so they cannot be used to target academics, journalists and political dissenters.

Mr Erdogan has accused countries raising concern over the response to the coup of supporting the plotters and targeted Amnesty International for a report alleging that some people detained in connection with the attempt had been tortured.

He insisted that Turkey had a policy of “zero tolerance toward torture” and accused the human rights organisation of ignoring violence committed by plotters during the attempt.

Excerpt from the Independent news. 

Source: The Independent , August 9, 2016


Related News

Erdoğan gov’t supports Iranian contest while obstructing Turkish Olympiad

While Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been attempting to obstruct the Turkish Language and Culture Olympiad, his government has been supporting a similar competition to be held in Tehran in August 2014.

Recruiting based on ‘color lists’ breach of Constitution

As well as sympathizers of the Hizmet movement, inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, and of the CHP, Kurds and those who took part in the Gezi Park demonstrations are also placed on the “red list,” which means that the candidate should not be employed, according to the report.

Ex-AK Party deputy Özdalga: Gov’t wants to make judiciary subordinate to executive power

“The issue is not only about corruption, it is also about the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers, things at the heart of the democratic regime. There is no democracy without these,” says Haluk Özdalga, who was a member of the ruling party since 2007 until his recent resignation.

Gülen chair holder praises movement’s focus on education

Professor Johan Leman, the holder of Fethullah Gülen Chair at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium has said the Gülen movement is a perfect partner for him to work with.

Is the Gulen Movement an alternative to the state?

Some say, “You [Gülen Movement] are acting as the honorary ambassadors, counselors, and attachés, are you the alternative to the state? My answer is as follows: If some people are taking care of the business in the places where you cannot reach, you have to only admire and compliment them.

Gülen movement acted ‘courageously’ when gov’t-involved graft revealed, Altan says

Ahmet Altan, the former editor-in-chief of the Taraf daily, has said that the Gülen movement acted “courageously” during the public revelations of the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption scandal that implicated several senior members of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Erdogan’s Hate Speech against the Gulen Movement

Disabled teacher, husband removed from job as brothers under arrest

A Personal Story from Turkey: I am a “Man of Law” Not a Terrorist!

Twelve questions Turkey’s journalists can’t ask

Hate speech creates new opportunities for Hizmet movement

İstanbul’s global summit secures deals worth millions

Global education turns Turkish teachers into world citizens

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News