Turkey orders new probe into govt overthrow plot

FE Team | Published: July 08, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

TURKEY : Protesters demonstrate Monday outside Ankara Courthouse during the trial of Turkish police officer Ahmet Sahbaz, charged with the June 2013 shooting of 26-year-old Ethem Sarisuluk in Ankara during the first days the demonstrations that erupted ag

ISTANBUL, July 7 (agencies): Turkish police have ordered a major new investigation into the movement run by an influential Muslim cleric locked in a feud with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, over an alleged plot to overthrow the government, a report said on Monday.
US-exiled Fethullah Gulen has long been accused by Erdogan of using his Hizmet (Service) movement, whose supporters have strong ties to Turkey's police and judiciary, to instigate a corruption probe implicating key government allies.
In the written order sent to the police departments in 30 provinces, the movement is accused of working to overthrow Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government and seize control of the state by forcibly abolishing the constitutional order, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
The order, dated June 25, also asks police to enquire whether Hizmet is an armed group or played a role in a string of assassinations that have shocked Turkey in recent years, including the 2007 murder of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
The investigation marks a significant ramping up of the judicial pressure against Hizmet ahead of next month's presidential elections in which Erdogan will be contending to be head of state.
Meanwhie: A Turkish court Monday arrested a riot policeman accused of killing a protester during mass anti-government protests last year, in a key victory for the victim's family.
The family of 26-year-old Ethem Sarisuluk-who was shot dead in anti-government protests in Ankara-has long denounced the trial as biased and pointed to alleged political pressure on the judiciary.