Police have detained 173 civil servants in three Istanbul-based courthouses over suspected links to the notorious group behind Turkey's July 15 abortive military coup.
Police swept the court houses in the districts of Gaziosmanpaşa, Bakırköy and Çağlayan, in search of those affiliated with the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).
The U.S.-based Turkish terrorist Fetullah Gülen, cloaked as a reclusive Muslim cleric, hatched a coup attempt together with his supporters, nested within the Turkish military on July 15. Statements of suspects, taken into coup case, has apparently pointed the finger of blame for the abortive uprising squarely at Gülen.
After the attempted coup, thousands of workers have been either suspended or dismissed for their link to FETÖ. Police forces were acting on the order of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, that issued warrants for the workers, known with their ties to FETÖ.
Forty-four judiciary personnel were detained from the Bakırköy court house, while 129 others were rounded up in the Çağlayan and Gaziosmanpaşa courthouses.
Police have searched the suspects' offices. The operation is still underway.
