Turkey to Arrest 46 Former Police Academy Students

Turkish prosecutors on Friday issued arrest warrants for 46 former police academy students over their alleged links to a network suspected of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.

Police launched simultaneous operations in dozens of addresses in six provinces to arrest the suspects upon the order of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the state-run Anadolu agency said.

Prosecutors concluded that the suspects have alleged connections with the network headed by U.S.based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Thirty suspects have been reportedly detained in operations so far, and several organisational documents and digital materials have been seized during the searches.

The police academy in Istanbul was closed after the failed coup and its students have been placed in several universities across the country.

The Turkish government blamed Gulen and his network for masterminding the coup bid in July 2016, in which 250 people were killed.