Eight academics were detained during police raids on their homes in Bitlis, and the police are still searching for the other four suspects wanted in that province. The prosecutor ordered the detention of the academics based on anonymous witness statements.
One person was detained in Gaziantep for attending a private school affiliated with the movement several years ago. The six other suspects were not found at their addresses in that province.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, a faith-based group inspired by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the abortive putsch or any terrorist activity.
