New York, July 31: The Turkish Government has released hundreds of soldiers who were arrested after the failed coup attempt by the military on July 15.
As many as 758 of the 989 soldiers held after failed power grab were freed on Saturday on the recommendation of a judge in Istanbul, after the soldiers provided testimony on their involvement in the execution of the plot to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reports CNN.
The judge called the detention of the soldiers, including military students, unnecessary. However, 231 soldiers still remain behind bars. In a big crackdown post the coup, at least 1,389 suspected military personnel have been expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces.
A total of 15,846 people have been detained, the majority of the detentions being military. In addition to the large number of detentions 8,113 individuals have also been arrested. Earlier in the week, the President also dropped many pending lawsuits against people he deemed to have insulted him during or after the coup.
"As a milestone, I hereby withdraw all the cases filed for insulting me and forgive all the offenders," he said.
In addition to mass arrests, Turkish authorities have fired or suspended at least 60,000 people from various institutions, including some from state-run organizations.
Source: ANI
