Turkey arrests 60 lawyers, 44 soldiers allegedly affiliated with Gulen movement

Turkish security forces arrested on Friday 60 lawyers and 44 soldiers, allegedly affiliated with a religious movement led by Fethullah Gulen on charges of being behind a 2016 coup attempt, Al Arabiya reported.

Among those detained are 48 practicing lawyers, seven attorneys undergoing training, a judge who was dismissed from his position, and a law graduate, according to reports.

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Turkish security forces and police reportedly made the arrests in Ankara and Istanbul at dawn on Friday.

Twenty-two of the 44 soldiers have been accused of establishing cells with ties to Gulen within the military, according to the Al Arabiya report.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Gulen – a Turkish Muslim preacher who lives in the US and a former ally – of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016 that was carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces.

The president says Gulen uses his followers to try and overthrow the government.

Since 2016, thousands of people have been held by the government for their alleged involvement in the attempted coup.

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