ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish security forces on Tuesday arrested over 500 individuals for alleged ties with the outlawed Gulen movement, the interior minister announced.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday that security forces arrested 544 individuals in 62 provinces for alleged link with the Gulen movement, a group accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being behind the July 2016 coup attempt.
The suspects were directed by the group leadership to take entrance exams to enter government institutions, according to Yerliakaya, adding that some of the suspects used the ByLock application, which is believed to be the secret communication app between the members of the organization.
"We will not leave members of FETO alone," Yerlikaya said, using the derogatory term for Gulen’s movement.
Influential Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen and his transnational movement, have been accused by Erdogan and the Turkish government of orchestrating the 2016 failed coup attempt in Turkey that killed more than 240 people. His movement was declared a terrorist organization just two months before the incident and a countrywide crackdown ensued to capture his followers.
Gulen, who has been living in the United States since 1999, has repeatedly denied involvement in the coup.
Regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern Turkish politics, Gulen was once a key supporter of Erdogan's rise to power in mid-2000.
But their relationship abruptly ended in 2013 after a corruption scandal involving Erdogan’s closest circles pitted the two men against one other. The Turkish president accused Gulen of creating a “parallel state” within Turkey.
Erdogan’s consolidation of power has been denounced by Gulen, who has referred to the Turkish president as a “dictator” and has encouraged the US and European governments to do more to restore political freedoms in Turkey.
