Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said the military council decisions would be announced later on Thursday and take immediate effect.
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Last week, Turkey declared a three-month state of emergency, allowing the president and the government to bypass parliament when drafting new laws and to restrict or suspend rights and freedoms. Tens of thousands of state employees have been dismissed for alleged ties to a USA -based Muslim cleric accused of masterminding the coup.
Authorities issued warrants for the detention of 89 journalists as the clampdown extended to the media.
According to state media, among the most senior generals detained are former air force chief General Akin Ozturk and former Second Army Commander General Adem Huduti.
Anadolu also said Ankara prosecutors requested the seizure of the assets of 3,049 judges and prosecutors detained as part of the investigation into the coup attempt.
Investigations into people’s involvement with the Gulen movement, “the financial support they provided and their participation in other activities are continuing”, the minister said.
Meanwhile the probe into coup plotters shifted focus to the financing of Gulen’s activities in Turkey, with what appeared to be the first major arrests targeting the business world.
On Friday, the European Union affairs ministry suspended 16 people and dismissed six others as part of the investigation into the Gulen movement, while the public prosecutor’s office in the Aegean coastal town of Izmir issued orders for 203 police personnel to be apprehended, Anadolu said.
Also on Wednesday, a government official said Turkish special forces were still hunting in the hills around the Mediterranean resort of Marmaris for a group of 11 commandos who are believed to have tried to capture or kill Erdogan on the night of the coup, when he was on holiday in the area. He also said he saw “positive change” in the attitude of the United States towards Ankara’s request to extradite Gulen to Turkey.
The media organizations include 16 television stations, 23 radio stations, 15 magazines, 29 publishing houses and 45 newspapers – including a Gulen-linked children’s television station and opposition daily Taraf.
The army said Wednesday that 8,651 of its military personnel had been involved in the coup – 1.5 percent of its total number – along with 35 planes, 37 helicopters, 74 tanks and three ships. “Those in the Gulen movement who work in the judicial and security institutions and who received the aforementioned training, took on this task and moved into action”. If you really want to have a solid case against the coup plotters, you should carefully distinguish people.
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The U.S. director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said on Thursday the purges within the Turkish military were having an impact on bilateral cooperation, adding: “Many of our interlocutors have been purged or arrested”. According to Amnesty International, there is “credible evidence” that some detainees were subjected to beatings and other forms torture including rape.
