Turkey ramps up crackdown after failed coup, claims thousands detained
(FOX)- The Turkish government on Sunday ratcheted up its crackdown on alleged plotters of the botched coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, detaining as many as 6,000 people, including military officers, and issuing dozens of arrest warrants for judges and prosecutors, according to government officials.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said in a television interview that “the cleansing (operation) is continuing. Some 6,000 detentions have taken place. The number could surpass 6,000.”
Detention orders were for 53 more judges and prosecutors while 52 military officers were rounded up for their alleged roles in the failed coup, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Bozdag also said he was confident that the United States would return Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen to Turkey. The Turkish president has blamed Gulen and his followers for the failed military coup on Friday night, but Gulen has denied any involvement in or knowledge about the attempted coup. The U.S. says it will look at any evidence Turkey has to offer against Gulen, and judge accordingly.
Bozdag says “the United States would weaken itself by protecting him, it would harm its reputation. I don’t think that at this hour, the United States would protect someone who carried out this act against Turkey.”
Erdogan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the failed coup attempt, Turkish officials told reporters.
Putin said Moscow stood by “Turkey’s elected government” and expressed his good wishes to Turkey’s people, a Turkish government statement added.