Turkish police detained 24 people in simultaneous raids in the northern provinces of Samsun and Sinop in August 2017 as part of an investigation targeting alleged links to the Gülen movement.
The operation was carried out by anti-smuggling and organized crime units from the Samsun Police Department.
Those detained included dismissed civil servants, former employees of the shuttered Sakarya prep school and Feza educational institutions, local tradesmen and students.
The detainees were taken to the Samsun Police Department for questioning.
The Gülen movement is a transnational civic initiative inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Ankara blames the movement for Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt and designates it as a terrorist organization. The movement denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
The raids showed how post-coup operations continued more than a year after the failed putsch and extended across broad civilian groups, including former education workers, students, small business owners and people already dismissed from public service.
Prep schools and private educational institutions associated by Turkish authorities with the movement were among the first targets of the crackdown, with many closed by government decree and their employees later subjected to detention and prosecution.
Rights advocates said such operations often relied on alleged affiliation with closed institutions or social networks rather than individualized evidence of involvement in the coup attempt or violent activity.
