A former police chief and a businessman from Istanbul have been detained near the borders as they were trying to escape Turkey purge and flee to Greece.
M.G., a former police chief in Van province who was dismissed as part of post-coup crackdown on Gülen movement, was detained near Turkey’s Greek border in Edirne.
M.G. was rounded up by gendarmerie in Abdürrahim village in Edirne’s Enez district, on Friday.
While an arrest warrant had been already issued for M.G. before his attempt to depart from Turkey illegally, the court overseeing his case put M.G. in pre-trial arrest late on Friday.
Also, an Istanbul businessman, identified as M.Ş., was detained near Dereköy border gate, Turkey’s exit to Bulgaria, over Gülen links on Thursday.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government along with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement despite the latter’s denials of involvement.
With over 120,000 people already detained over alleged or real links to the movement, thousands of others tried to escape Turkey illegally as the government cancelled their passports. While many managed to get out of the country, hundreds of others have been caught near border on Turkish side. (turkeypurge)
