Turkey detains dozens more over alleged coup ties

AFP  |  Ankara 

on Tuesday detained over 100 individuals nationwide for suspected ties to the group blamed for a 2016 attempted coup, reported.

Tens of thousands of people have been taken into custody over alleged ties to US-based Muslim since the failed coup while over 140,000 public sector employees have been sacked or suspended.

After public prosecutors in several cities including the capital and coastal city of issued over 400 arrest warrants, 127 suspects were detained, according to numbers provided by state agency

Raids to catch the others continued.

Individuals sought included former police officers and others accused of using the encrypted ByLock messaging application which authorities suspect was used by Gulen's supporters to coordinate the coup bid, the agency reported.

Turkish accuses Gulen of ordering the failed coup but the Pennsylvania-based denies the claims.

The raids across have shown no sign of slowing down, with hundreds of detentions in recent months despite heavy criticism from Western allies and rights activists who say the arrests are part of a crackdown on dissent.

Turkish officials say the raids are necessary to remove Gulen's influence in state institutions.

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First Published: Tue, April 09 2019. 15:35 IST