Turkish police yesterday detained 35 suspects, including high-ranking bureaucrats and police officers, as part of a probe into supporters of a US-based cleric accused of plotting to bring down Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local media reported.
Police raided several addresses in the western coastal city of Izmir, Dogan news agency reported.
The operation came days after Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept back to power by winning almost half of the vote on Sunday to secure 317 seats in the 550-member parliament.
A strengthened AKP government is expected to speed up efforts to clean the state of exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen’s loyalists.
A former ally of Erdogan turned archenemy who lives in the US, Gulen is charged with “running a terrorist group,” which launched a probe into the president’s inner circle in 2013.
He is due to go on trial in absentia in January.
Erdogan accuses Gulen of trying to topple him by persuading allies in Turkey’s police force and judiciary to launch a vast probe into government corruption in December 2013, which led to the resignation of four ministers.
Turkish authorities responded by purging both the police force and judiciary of pro-Gulen elements, and arresting news editors and businesspeople.
The movement had supported the Islamic-rooted AKP when it came to power in 2002, but the relationship between the cleric and president degenerated as Erdogan became increasingly worried about Gulen’s bid for power.
Turkey’s Western allies have voiced deep concerns over media intimidation in the run-up to Sunday’s election.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the US was “deeply concerned that media outlets and individual journalists critical of the government were subject to pressure and intimidation during the campaign.”
“We have both publicly and privately raised our concerns about freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly in Turkey,” Earnest said.
His remarks echoed the findings of European election observers.
While voters were given a choice between genuine alternatives, “the rapidly diminishing choice of media outlets and restrictions on freedom of expression in general” caused “serious concerns,” said Ignacio Sanchez Amor, head of an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe mission.
“Unfortunately, the campaign for these elections was characterized by unfairness and, to a serious degree, fear,” said Andreas Gross, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe delegation.
The clampdown on media continued on Monday with the arrest of the editor of Istanbul-based magazine Nokta over a cover story on Erdogan’s win titled: “The start of civil war in Turkey.”
The magazine was accused of inciting the public to commit a crime, Dogan news agency said.
Turkey’s main opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet labeled the AKP win a “victory of fear.”
Columnist Can Dundar said Turkey’s already highly-polarized society was split between “those who are ready to die for Erdogan and those who cannot stand him anymore.”
Turkish stocks and the lira soared on the results, which ended the months of political uncertainty stoked by an inconclusive June vote.
The election outcome is a huge personal victory for 61-year-old Erdogan, who might now be able to secure enough support for his ambitions to become a US-style executive president.
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