The Turkish government has detained 3,293 military officers and arrested 717 of them since January 1, 2018 as part of its massive post-coup witch hunt targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement.
According to data compiled by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency and published on Thursday, while 717 officers were arrested and put in pretrial detention during this period of time, legal procedures for the other detainees are currently ongoing. The report also said dozens of military officers are still being sought.
It was reported that 2,160 active duty military officers were detained in Aksaray, Ankara, Antalya, Aydın, Balıkesir, Bayburt, Bolu, Bursa, Çanakkale, Eskişehir, İstanbul, İzmir, Kayseri, Kırşehir, Konya, Muğla, Niğde, Samsun and Zonguldak provinces between Jan. 1 and April 15 while 1,133 been detained since April 15, 2018.
Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said on April 18, 2018 that the Turkish government has identified 3,000 active duty military officers suspected of links to the Gülen movement and that they would be dismissed with a government decree in the coming days.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government under the leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has dismissed 24,977 military members including 150 generals, 4,630 officers, 2,167 noncommissioned officers, 1,210 specialized sergeants, 411 civil servants and workers, and 16,409 cadets immediately since a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 over alleged links to the Gülen movement.
The government has up until now employed 15,850 military personnel including 1,763 officers, 4,135 noncommissioned officers, 3,698 specialized sergeants, 6,162 contracted privates and 92 civil servants.
The Turkish government announced on Jan. 2, 2017 that it would enlist 42,938 new military personnel. A total of 3,755 officers, 5,375 noncommissioned officers, 13,213 specialized sergeants and 20,595 contracted privates are planned to fill the ranks. In February 2017 then-Defense Minister Fikri Işık said 30,000 new recruits would be enlisted in the Turkish military.
Official statements claim that 8,651 military members including cadets and privates took part in the coup bid in July 2016.
Director General of Public Security Selami Altınok on Dec. 12, 2017 said 22,987 police officers have been dismissed over alleged links to the Gülen movement.
“If it was a coup perpetrated by the Gülen movement and 25,000 military personnel and 22,987 police officers were dismissed for their connections to the movement, why did only 8,651 military members including cadets and privates participate in the coup?” is a question being asked by critics.
The government has been at the center of criticism for turning the Turkish forces into a political Islamist military in line with the wishes of President Erdoğan.
A military officer candidate was reportedly asked questions about the Quran and the anti-government Gezi protests of 2013 during an interview in October 2017.
In June 2017, an imam-hatip, or religious high school, in İzmir province promised its graduates preference in enrollment at military and police academies.
Some find the Turkish government’s efforts to Islamicize the Turkish army alarming and warn that NATO risks having a member army filled with extremists.
In February of last year Henri Barkey, director of the Middle East Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center, said that many generals purged by the Turkish government are pro-NATO and pro-American, saying this could create a shift in Turkey-NATO relations.
The head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl, last year said Turkey could not convince them that US-based Turkish-Islamic scholar Gülen was behind the failed coup in July.
Similarly, Devin Nunes, chairman of United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said he has not seen any evidence showing Gülen’s involvement in the putsch in Turkey.
In addition, a report prepared by the EU Intelligence Analysis Centre (IntCen) revealed that the coup attempt was staged by a range of Erdoğan’s opponents due to fears of an impending purge.
Turkey survived a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.
Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15. Previously, on December 13, 2017, The Justice Ministry announced that 169,013 people have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced on April 18, 2018 that the Turkish government jailed 77,081 people between July 15, 2016 and April 11, 2018 over alleged links to the Gülen movement.
