Turkey issues warrants of arrest of 72 university staff

At least 72 university staff have been arrested in Turkey after Turkish government issued their warrants of arrest, announced state media on Monday.

One of the those arrested include a former adviser to the main opposition leader who organized a mass rally on Sunday to protest against a crackdown since a failed military coup in July 2016.

The warrants were issued under an investigation into the movement of the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey accused of orchestrating the attempted coup on July 15, reports, state-run Anadolu news agency.

During Sunday's protest, leader of the secularist CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, told a large crowd that the country was under dictatorship and pledged to keep challenging the government after completing a 25-day protest march from Ankara to Istanbul.

According to Anadolu, police have so far detained 42 of the staff from Istanbul's prestigious Bogazici University and Medeniyet University, which is based on the Asian side of the country's largest city.