Turkish police detain dozens over alleged coup ties – reports

9 Apr, 2019 14:50 / Updated 6 years ago

Police on Tuesday reportedly detained over 100 individuals across Turkey for suspected ties to the group blamed for a 2016 attempted coup. After public prosecutors in several cities, including the capital, Ankara and coastal city of Izmir, issued over 400 arrest warrants, 127 suspects were detained, according to Anadolu. It said the individuals included former police officers and others accused of using the encrypted ByLock messaging application which the authorities suspect was used to coordinate the coup bid. Tens of thousands of people have been taken into custody over alleged ties to US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen since the failed coup, and over 140,000 public sector employees have been sacked or suspended. The Pennsylvania-based preacher denies the claims.