Turkey coup attempt: Govt reportedly orders 2,745 judges and prosecutors to be detained

The government is cracking down on suspected followers of US based cleric Fethullah Gulen

By: Reuters
Istanbul | July 17, 2016 12:36 AM IST

1 min read

A man kicks a Turkish soldier that participated in the attempted coup, on Istanbul’s Bosporus Bridge, Saturday, July 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Selcuk Samiloglu)

Turkish authorities on Saturday ordered 2,745 judges and prosecutors to be detained over Friday’s attempted military coup, broadcaster NTV said, as the government cracks down on suspected followers of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

President Tayyip Erdogan has said Gulen’s followers were behind the coup on Friday night that attempted to topple him.

Erdogan has said the cleric, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, is trying to build a “parallel structure” in the judiciary and army to try to overthrow the state, which Gulen denies.

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