Turkey’s Erdogan recounts night of coup, mulls death penalty

The Turkish government said Monday it detained 755 judges and prosecutors and 650 civilians as well as more than 6,100 members of security forces.

On Monday, the government widened the roundup to include about 9,000 Interior Ministry employees, among them almost 8,000 policemen.

Thirty regional governors and more than 50 high-ranking civil servants have also been dismissed, CNN Turk said.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says over 7,500 suspects have been arrested over the coup attempt, explaining that more than 750 judges and prosecutors are among the detainees.

Gulen has denied allegations that he was involved in the overthrow attempt and told reporters that he would have tried to stop any takeover had he known about it.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Air Force adviser, Lt Col Erkan Kivrak, was detained at a hotel while he was on holiday in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya.

The magnitude of the backlash by Erdogan, suggested that the depth of support for the coup was far deeper than it initially appeared – or that the president was using the opportunity to root out all perceived adversaries – or both.

Errol Mendes, a University of Ottawa global law expert, uses the same term to describe the crackdown and says there is much at stake for Western countries because Turkey is a key ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the Middle East.

“The secretary was surprised by the activities on Friday, as others in the USA government were”, he said. The White House believed that his ruling Justice and Development Party was a model for how Islamist parties could coexist with democracy and free markets.

On Monday, after thousands were arrested in Turkey, Mr Kerry said that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the western military alliance of which Turkey is a key member, would “measure very carefully what is happening” with respect to democracy. “There are quite a few disturbing things happening”.

Some law enforcement officers working at police stations in the capital, Ankara, spoke of the inhumane treatment of detainees in their custody. “Turkey should not go down that route”, says Ibrahim Kaboglu, professor of worldwide law in Marmara University.

“A backslide on human rights is the last thing Turkey needs”. Thousands of soldiers were rounded up by forces loyal to the government on suspicion of being involved in the coup.

“Obviously, the courts will consider evidence and reach their verdicts”, the official said. “There was a list of people suspected of planning a coup”.

Gulen said he has no sympathy of any kind for a military coup since he’s been a target himself.

Regarding Turkey’s demand that Gulen be extradited, Yildirim compared the situation to the USA hunt for Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks. But State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Ankara would need to provide “evidence” against Mr Gulen. Turkey’s government has not yet completed a formal request to extradite the reclusive cleric.

Still, a senior Turkish official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that there had been “an ongoing inquiry into the Gulen Movement’s penetration of law enforcement, the judiciary, and the military”. Officials previously said the overall death toll was more than 290. After Turkey completed a comprehensive upgrade of its F-16 jets a year ago, the head of the country’s air force called the American-made planes “the backbone of our force”.

But U.S. officials have been rattled by the extent of Turkey’s response to the failed coup, and say the relationship going forward will depend on how Erdogan pursues the cleric, Fethullah Gulen, and how far the crackdown extends. “Which indicates it was prepared and to be used at a certain stage”.

“Being part of a unique community of values, it is essential for Turkey, like all other allies, to ensure full respect for democracy and its institutions, the constitutional order, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms”, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. It was not clear if any arrests were made.