More mass arrests in Turkey as police raid Istanbul law courts

Turkish police raided offices at three Istanbul courthouses after detention warrants were issued for 173 judicial personnel as part of an investigation into last month’s coup attempt, Dogan news agency reported.

#Istanbul police raid courts for coup suspects https://t.co/3PdbQ77zFW pic.twitter.com/50XT7zHqfY

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) August 15, 2016

Of those, 136 were detained in Monday’s raids.

It said police took some of those detained away from Caglayan for questioning at a police station.

Four courthouse personnel were detained last week as part of the same investigation.

The government has launched a massive crackdown on alleged supporters of the Gulen movement, raising concerns among Western allies and human rights groups.

More than 35,000 people have been detained, of which 17,000 have been placed under formal arrest, since the July 15 coup attempt. More than 240 people were killed in the attempt, according to Turkish authorities.

In a crackdown since the abortive coup, more than 76,000 civil servants, judges and security force members have been suspended and nearly 5,000 dismissed, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday.