Police Raid Educational Institutions As Part Of Gov't-Led Operation

Twenty-six private schools and educational institutions in Kahramanmaraş which are inspired by the Gülen movement, a faith-based movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, were raided by police on Wednesday morning in a government-led operation.

The Cihan news agency reported that the Kahramanmaraş Police Department launched the operation after an anonymous complaint about tax fraud, and that digital data belonging to the institutions are being examined by the police. The police carried out simultaneous operations in the Afşin, Andırın, Elbistan, Göksun and Türkoğlu districts of Kahramanmaraş.

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has targeted people and institutions thought to be close to the Gülen movement in a series of operations since December 2013. Almost all of those detained in the government-led operations have subsequently been released after a few days because the authorities failed to provide evidence proving that they had been involved in criminal activity.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claims the Gülen movement tried and failed to carry out a coup attempt against him and his government in December 2013 and has waged a self-declared war against the movement.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)