Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday blamed followers of US -based cleric Fethullah Gulen for playing a role in a series of bomb attacks in eastern Turkey blamed on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
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Western allies worry President Tayyip Erdogan, already accused by opponents of creeping authoritarianism, is using the crackdown to target dissent, testing relations with a key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation partner in the war on Islamic State. TV channel CNN Turk said 60 people were detained.
The discharges started just hours after the government issued a decree for the conditional release of some 38,000 prisoners under Turkey’s three-month state of emergency that was declared after the coup attempt. He has denied any responsibility.
Dogan said prominent businessmen were among the suspects being sought by police on suspicion of “membership in a terror organization” and “providing financial support to a terror organization”.
Separately, a court ordered that 187 suspects’ assets be seized, according to Anadolu. It says Gulen’s followers spent four decades infiltrating the bureaucracy and security forces in a bid to eventually take control of the state.
The search targeted big companies like Aydinli Group, Eroglu Holding and Gulluoglu Baklava. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Ankara and Europe.
Yildirim added that 79,900 people have been removed from public duty in the military, police, civil service and judiciary.
The government crackdown has raised concerns among European nations and human-rights organizations, which have urged the Turkish government to show restraint.
Erdogan said he had personally asked President Barack Obama to extradite Fethullah Gulen back to Turkey.
It has demanded Washington extradite Gulen so he can face charges in Turkey, drawing a cautious reaction from U.S. officials who say they need to see clear evidence linking Gulen to the military putsch.
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A trade advocacy organization linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) has reportedly registered in Belgium in December a year ago to continue its operations for the group, which has been accused of orchestrating the deadly July 15 coup attempt in Turkey. About 100 people backing the coup were also killed, according to official estimates.
