Prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 187 suspects including CEOs of leading companies, with the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office ordering their assets to be seized, the state-run agency added. In total, 40,029 people had been detained since the coup attempt, and about half had been formally arrested pending charges.
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Since the July 15 coup attempt, Erdogan has issued an attack against tens of thousand of citizens, including those who work in education, military, judiciary, media, local government and healthcare sectors.
Those in the arrest warrants are supposed to be Gulen’s supporters, and there are many influential businesspeople involved, who are accused of financing the cleric.
Turkey on Friday detained dozens of academics suspected of backing Fethullah Gulen, the alleged mastermind of last month’s failed coup, while pressing ahead with raids on businesses linked to the USA -based Muslim preacher.
Sixty people were detained, including Omer Faruk Kavurmaci, the CEO of the Aydinli Group clothing retailer.
Police from a financial crimes unit launched dawn raids in Istanbul and 17 other provinces targeting businesses suspected of backing Gulen’s movement, the private Dogan news agency reported.
Gulen, a former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now lives in exile in the United States.
Last year, Eroglu had sales of 490 million lire, while Aydinli had revenues of 928 million lire ($317 million).
Ankara points the finger at Gulen for last month’s failed coup.
Nejat Gullu, chairman of baklava maker Gulluoglu, was detained, his company said in a statement on its website.
The suspects are accused of “membership in a terrorist organisation” and “financing the activities” of Gulen, blamed by authorities for orchestrating the July 15 putsch, according to Dogan.
He also said 4,262 companies and institutions with links to Gulen had been shut.
The European Union and the United States have expressed concern about the scale of the crackdown, and human rights groups have warned that a lack of due process will ensnare innocent people who had no role in the abortive coup.
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The decision on the confiscation of properties was taken under a statutory decree, which had been published as part of the three-month state of emergency in Turkey.
