Fail and Jail: Turkey 'arrests hundreds of ministry exam cheaters'

Authorities in Turkey have issued detention warrants for 249 people in its foreign ministry over suspected links to the network of the US-based cleric accused of being behind an 2016 coup attempt.

The Ankara chief prosecutor office said it ordered the arrest of the members as part of an investigation into alleged cheating during exams to recruit staff to the country's foreign ministry between 2010 and 2013

The Chief Prosecutor's office says 91 of the suspects were detained on Monday.

The suspects are believed to have links to the network led by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of orchestrating a failed coup attempt in 2016. Gulen denies the accusation.

Authorities believe Gulen's network, which has been outlawed, has helped followers infiltrate key civil service jobs through cheating and other means.

Some 77,000 people have been arrested for links to Gulen since the coup and around 130,000 others have been dismissed from state jobs.

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