Turkish prosecutors on Thursday issued detention warrants against 75 police officers over their alleged links to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.
Police launched simultaneous operations in 16 provinces to arrest the suspects, upon the order of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.
Prosecutors concluded that the suspects, including retired, dismissed, and on-duty police officers, have suspected connections with the network headed by the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The investigation and the following operations aim to purge the group members from the Turkish police force ranks, the report said.
The Turkish government blames Gulen and his network for masterminding the coup bid in July 2016, in which 250 people were killed.