Turkey Arrests Over a Thousand Suspected of Ties to Fethullah Gülen Group

Turkish police, in one of their largest operations, simultaneously arrested over a thousand individuals suspected of connections to the Fethullah Gülen group across 81 cities in the country. The Turkish prosecutor's office issued arrest warrants for approximately 3,200 people, and by the evening of Wednesday, April 25, more than a thousand had been detained in various cities. The Istanbul-based newspaper Hurriyet reported that warrants for over 7,000 people have been issued nationwide. The Turkish Interior Minister stated that police operations are ongoing, and more arrests are expected. The prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Interior claim that this extensive operation is primarily aimed at purging the country's security forces. Following the failed coup attempt in July last year, the President of Turkey accused the Gülen movement and Fethullah Gülen himself of orchestrating and leading the coup. Gülen, a government-opposing cleric who is in self-imposed exile in the United States, has denied these accusations. However, the Turkish government has labeled Gülen's supporters as a 'terrorist group' and has arrested thousands under the state of emergency for alleged collaboration or assistance to the Gülen movement. To date, nearly 50,000 individuals from government institutions, military personnel, university and school administrative and educational staff, journalists, and Turkish businessmen have been detained for their alleged ties to the Gülen movement. About 130,000 others, mostly teachers, military officers, police, and employees of various ministries and universities, have been dismissed from their jobs. The operation on Wednesday occurred just days after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's victory in the constitutional referendum. In the referendum held last Sunday, over 51% of voters approved the constitutional changes. Two major opposition parties in Turkey, observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and several domestic and international human rights organizations have called the voting results into question. The Republican People's Party, the largest opposition party in Turkey, and several other parties claim that the Supreme Election Commission's decision to count unstamped ballots is illegal and that the voting lacks legitimacy. The Republican People's Party announced on Wednesday that it would refer the matter to the European Court of Human Rights to assess the legitimacy and legality of the voting. On the other hand, Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım assert that over 50% of the people voted for the constitutional changes and that opponents should respect the people's vote.