Turkey issues arrest warrants for 29 academics

A Turkish court Tuesday ordered the arrests of dozens of members of staff at a state-run university in an ongoing crackdown following a failed coup attempt last month.

An Izmur court issued arrest warrants for 29 academics and staff at İzmir Katip Çelebi University in connection with coup plot, the Turkish Minute website reported.

Turkish authorities accuse US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a staunch critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime, of organizing the July 15 coup attempt.

Among those on the arrest list were the university’s former deputy rector, Professor Tancan Uysal, who in the 2015 elections ran in Justice and Development Party (AK Party) which was formerly led by Erdogan.

Turkey is seeking Gulen’s extradition from the US who have demanded proof that he was involved in the attempted overthrow.

Earlier this month 44 arrest warrants were issued for academics and members of staff at the university. Of those, 40 have been detained and four are still on the run.

The arrests came a day after the Hurriyet Daily newspaper reported a court in the capital Ankara issued arrest papers for 38 other people in connection with a 2010 sex-tape scandal involving the chairman of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and which was allegedly orchestrated by the Gullen movement.

In addition, seven academics at the Yüzüncü Yıl University in the eastern province of Van were suspended Tuesday for links to the Gulen movement, the report said.

So far, 81,494 people have been purged from state bodies, 40,029 detained and 20,355 arrested since the coup attempt, Turkish Minute said.