Turkish prosecutors issued detention warrants for 142 current and former employees of the National Education Ministry and the Youth and Sports Ministry as part of investigations targeting alleged links to the Gülen movement more than a year after Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
The warrants were issued by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
According to Turkish media reports, the operation targeted 121 people affiliated with the National Education Ministry, including five current employees.
Warrants were also issued for 21 people previously dismissed from the Youth and Sports Ministry.
Police reportedly began operations to detain those named in the warrants.
The Gülen movement is a transnational civic initiative inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Ankara blames the coup attempt on the movement and designates it as a terrorist organization. The movement denies involvement in the coup or any terrorist activity.
The operation reflected the continued expansion of Turkey’s post-coup crackdown into civilian ministries, where public employees were dismissed, detained or prosecuted over alleged affiliations rather than direct involvement in the coup attempt.
Education was one of the sectors most heavily affected after the failed putsch, with teachers, ministry personnel, academics and employees of closed schools and educational institutions targeted in mass dismissals and criminal investigations.
