Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 18
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Eighty-eight people have been today detained in Istanbul, Anadolu Agency reports.
The detainees are suspected of having ties with the Fethullah Gulen movement, which is banned in Turkey.
They are also suspected of money laundering and tax evasion.
More than 10 high-ranking police officers were detained in Turkey in December 2015 as a result of the operations against the Gulen movement.
Fethullah Gulen is an Islamic public figure currently residing in the US. He is accused of being involved in a huge wiretapping scandal in Turkey.
Turkish media reported on Feb. 25, 2014 that in 2011, telephone conversations of about 7,000 people associated with the representatives of both the ruling and opposition parties, including family members of the prime minister, were wiretapped as part of an anti-terrorist operation.
The then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Gulen of standing behind the wiretapping. Later a criminal case was initiated in Turkey against Gulen for his coup attempt and espionage against the country.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu