Turkish police have arrested 44 people across the country on suspicion of being linked to the Gülen movement, a religious organization. This was reported by the Kronos news website on Tuesday.
According to the report, the operations were conducted in 28 provinces based on warrants issued by Ankara prosecutors for 46 public sector workers. The detainees are accused of organizing the infiltration of the police by the movement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement since the 2013 corruption investigations. These investigations implicated then-Prime Minister Erdogan, his family members, and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdogan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to pursue its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch in 2016, which he accused Gülen of masterminding. However, Gülen and the movement strongly deny any involvement in the coup attempt or terrorist activity.
In addition to the thousands who were imprisoned, many other followers of the Gülen movement had to flee Turkey to escape the government crackdown.
