Coup aftermath: Turkey rounding up more military officers and judges

Turkish authorities have issued detention orders for 53 more judges and prosecutors while 52 military officers have been rounded up for their alleged roles in a failed power grab, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said on Sunday.
The report followed an intensive crackdown against the judiciary and the military in the wake of the botched coup Friday night against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Officials say about 3,000 soldiers, including officers, are already in detention. Almost a similar number of judges and prosecutors have been dismissed.
NTV television said that 34 generals of various grades had been detained so far. They include senior figures like Erdal Ozturk, commander of the Third Army and commander of the Malatya-based Second Army Adem Huduti.
The authorities have been carrying out raids at military bases across Turkey in search of those suspected of supporting the coup, which has claimed at least 265 lives.
In an operation early Sunday, at the garrison in the western town of Denizli, its commander Ozhan Ozbakir was detained along with 51 other soldiers, Anadolu news agency said.
The crackdown is, however, not restricted to the military and Anadolu said that prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for a total of 2,745 judges and prosecutors across Turkey.
It was not clear how many had been detained so far but the private Dogan news agency said 44 judges and prosectors were detained overnight in the central city of Konya and 92 in the southeastern city of Gaziantep.
The entire investigation is being led by Ankara prosecutors and those arrested are suspected of belonging to the group of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey accuses of masterminding the coup. Gulen denies the charges.
Turkey accuses Gulen of leading a group called the “Fethullahci Terror Organization (FETO)” that has created a parallel state. Gulen’s supporters say their group which they call Hizmet (Service) is entirely peaceful.
US President Barack Obama had warned Turkey there is a “vital need” for all parties to “act within the rule of law” in the aftermath of the coup.
The coup appears to have boosted Erdogan’s popularity. Clapping, singing and dancing, thousands of government backers celebrated the defeat of the coup in public squares in Ankara and Istanbul into the wee hours Sunday, bolstering support for the man who’s led Turkey for over 13 years.

Source: Arab News