Erdogan Gains Upper Hand as Purge Defangs Islamist Rivals
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Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is gaining the upper hand in Turkey’s political feud by purging a police force and judiciary that helped him become the country’s most powerful leader in decades, analysts and police experts say.
Prosecutors driving the corruption probe that shook the government when it was made public in December have been shunted off the case, and thousands of police officers reassigned. Erdogan accuses them of taking orders from his former ally, U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose influence he has vowed to root out.