Turkish police launched simultaneous raids on 44 companies in Istanbul on Tuesday and had warrants to detain 120 company executives as part of the investigation into last month’s attempted military coup, state-run Anadolu agency reported.
Advertisement
The official added that it is still unclear whether Gulen’s lawyers relied on concrete information when they said the Pennsylvania-based cleric and political leader risks being assassinated.
It said one of the officers was accused of commanding soldiers to open fire on protesters on Istanbul’s Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul and the other of ordering a raid on the state broadcaster TRT on the night of the coup.
His followers are alleged to have set up a parallel state.
Authorities are now investigating whether members affiliated with the Gulen movement stole the answers to the 2010 Public Service Placement Exam and distributed them to fellow members. The agency did not identify the companies searched. An estimated 26,000 people have been detained and 82,000 dismissed or suspended. The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warned recently that the number of detentions might increase if there are detected more individuals suspicious of collaborating with the participants in a coup and pushed back the condemnation of the global community, which criticizes the massive arrests and is required that this country should respect the fundamental freedoms of its citizens.
Erdogan said today it was only natural to discuss whether to introduce the death penalty after the botched coup, and blasted Europe for its criticism.
He vowed this month to cut off the revenues of businesses linked to Gulen, describing them as “nests of terrorism” and promising no mercy in rooting them out.
“Believe me, they do not have the patience, strength and faith that we have”, he said. It brought the Turkish people together in solidarity.
The Turkish leadership has accused Gulen, who has lived in exile since 1999, of orchestrating the failed coup on July 15. However, the Turkish Stream was put on hold as relations between Russia and Turkey got locked in a spat over the downing of a Russian Su-24M bomber on November 24 by the Turkish Air Forces fighter jet. The pipeline is to run 660 km in the old South Stream corridor and 250 km in the new corridor in the direction of the European part of Turkey.
Advertisement
Turkish authorities have already targeted high-profile businesses as part of the coup investigation. The group has firms in energy and finance as well as furniture.
