Hundreds more military arrests in Turkey against alleged coup plotters
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Ankara has dismissed another 820 military officers as part of its crackdown against suspected members of the Gulen movement, which Turkey blames for a failed July 15 coup.
The personnel were dismissed from the army and the navy, announced the defense ministry on Thursday, adding that 648 of the dismissed personnel have been placed under arrest.
To date, Turkey’s sweeping crackdown against suspected coup plotters in the military has led to the suspension of thousands of senior military officials, 200 of them generals.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also praised Turkey’s judiciary on Thursday for the “quick action” it took following the coup attempt.
“The judiciary was one of the institutions that passed the test with flying colors on the night of July 15,” Erdogan said at an annual ceremony for the judiciary at the Presidential Palace.
According to the official Anadolu news, Erdogan went on to say that a total of 3,495 judges and prosecutors were put in custody for having alleged links to the Gulen movement.
These mass detentions, Erdogan insisted, would not weaken the judiciary. “I believe, on the contrary, it will provide a serious relief in establishing real justice,” he said.
Erdogan also claimed that holding the ceremony for the opening of the new judicial year at the presidential palace does not in any way overshadow its independence.
The personnel were dismissed from the army and the navy, announced the defense ministry on Thursday, adding that 648 of the dismissed personnel have been placed under arrest.
To date, Turkey’s sweeping crackdown against suspected coup plotters in the military has led to the suspension of thousands of senior military officials, 200 of them generals.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also praised Turkey’s judiciary on Thursday for the “quick action” it took following the coup attempt.
“The judiciary was one of the institutions that passed the test with flying colors on the night of July 15,” Erdogan said at an annual ceremony for the judiciary at the Presidential Palace.
According to the official Anadolu news, Erdogan went on to say that a total of 3,495 judges and prosecutors were put in custody for having alleged links to the Gulen movement.
These mass detentions, Erdogan insisted, would not weaken the judiciary. “I believe, on the contrary, it will provide a serious relief in establishing real justice,” he said.
Erdogan also claimed that holding the ceremony for the opening of the new judicial year at the presidential palace does not in any way overshadow its independence.