Turkey Detains 40 Soldiers in Coup Probe: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkey detained 40 soldiers from an air base in the central Anatolian city of Konya as part of investigations into July's failed military coup, a report said.
Detention warrants had been issued for 47 more soldiers from Konya, the private Dogan news agency said, in what was the third wave of action against suspected followers of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the government blames for masterminding the coup attempt, Reuters reported.
More than 32,000 people are in jail and 100,000, including top military figures, have been dismissed from jobs in the security and civil services for their alleged links to Gulen's network. The cleric denies involvement in the putsch.
Turkey has asked the US authorities to extradite Gulen to face justice back home and expressed impatience with the slowness of the procedure.
But Washington has insisted the full judicial process should be observed.
It is still not clear when the first trials will start but Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has said they will take place across the country, with special court facilities needing to be set up in some places.
