Turkey’s post-coup purge widens to schools and universities

Turkish lawmakers convened Thursday to endorse sweeping new powers for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that would allow him to expand a crackdown in the wake of last week’s failed coup.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused US -based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose followers run a worldwide network of schools, of fomenting the insurrection, which was quashed by security forces and protesters loyal to the government. Turkey’s National Security Council is holding an emergency meeting following a c.

“The fact that so many judges have been detained, never mind the workload at the courthouses, will render them inoperable”, said Vildan Yirmibesoglu, a human rights lawyer. Erdogan on Wednesday declared a three-month state of emergency following a bo.

While the coup was an attempt to undermine an elected government, the President’s wide-reaching retaliation now includes tens of thousands within Turkey’s judiciary, universities, and other civilian bureaucracy with potentially grave consequences for the country’s democracy. “If he wants a lesson in democracy he can very easily get a lesson in democracy from us, ” Erdogan said in an interview with Al Jazeera, as cited by AFP.

Erdogan also said the coup “was not yet over, as there might be other plans linked to it”, without offering additional details.

“We will remain within a democratic parliamentary system. We can say that by not accepting the offer, he paved the way for its failure”, the agency quoted Turkkan as saying.

The ban comes only a day after Turkish officials reportedly sacked more than 15,000 education workers and asked almost 1,500 university deans to resign.

“The Department of Justice and the Department of State will review those materials consistent with the requirements of the extradition treaty between the United States and Turkey that’s been on the books for more than 30 years now”. The purge also extended to civil servants in the environment and sports ministries.

The coup attempt left more than 232 people dead and 1,541 injured.

On Tuesday, authorities shut media outlets deemed to be supportive of Gulen.

The Turkish government focused in particular on teachers suspected of backing Friday’s failed uprising, taking steps to revoke the licenses of 21,000 teachers at private schools and sacking or detaining half a dozen university presidents.

About 900 police officers from Ankara, where the presidential palace was bombed, have been suspended. A crowd marched to the airport to welcome Erdogan back in Istanbul.

Gulen is accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the government through supporters within the Turkish state. He lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania but has a network of supporters in Turkey.

Gulen issued a statement on Tuesday urging Washington to reject the extradition call and dismissed as “ridiculous” the claim he was behind the botched coup. This was reported by Anadolu Agency on Wednesday; the news report being extensively followed by Iraqi News.

But efforts to repress Gulen’s followers have mushroomed since the thwarted coup, said Aslandogan, who spoke outside Gulen’s home in the Pocono Mountains.

Erdogan believed the bilateral relation is not based on emotion, as Turkey and the USA, an important strategic partner, have many common interests and should strengthen solidarity with each other.

It has raised deep concerns about the stability of the strategic North Atlantic Treaty Organisation partner, which has a key air base used in the US-led fight against the Islamic State group that has a large nuclear weapons stockpile. “We are strategic partners”, Erdogan said. Even if approved by a judge, it would still have to go to Secretary of State John Kerry, who can consider non-legal factors, such as humanitarian arguments.

The military’s attempt to seize power in the country took place on July 15, when Erdogan was on holiday in the Turkish resort of Marmaris.