Turkey post-coup crackdown nets 50,000 people

[DFighter]

Istanbul (CNN)Turkey has now fired or suspended about 50,000 people after a failed coup over the weekend as it intensifies its vast purge -- battering the country's security forces and many of its democratic institutions.

Teachers, journalists, police and judges alike have been caught in a net authorities are casting wider by the day, in what is increasingly looking like a witch-hunt to suppress dissent.

Western leaders have urged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government to respect democratic principles and act within the law in response to talk of reviving the death penalty and heavy-handed punishments over the coup.

The purge has gutted the leadership in the country's security forces, with at least 118 generals and admirals detained, stripping the general-rank command of the Turkish military by a third, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.

Authorities have also suspended 8,777 Ministry of Interior personnel, mostly police, as well as 100 Turkish intelligence service personnel, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Here's a tally of who has been affected, according to Anadolu:

- 21,000 teachers in private institutions have had their licenses revoked;

- 15,200 Education Ministry personnel have been suspended and are under investigation;

- 2,745 judges and prosecutors have been listed for detention, although it is unclear if they have all been detained, and;

- 1,577 deans have been asked to resign.

Anadolu reported that Turkey's top broadcasting authority on Tuesday revoked the licenses for 24 radio and television companies that it said are linked to Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan blames for masterminding the coup.



Turkey on Tuesday formally requested the extradition of Gulen from the United States, where he lives in self-imposed exile.The government has blocked WikiLeaks after the whistleblower website dumped almost 300,000 emails from Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday evening.Access was restricted because of a "violation of privacy and publication of illegally obtained data," a Turkish official told CNN.

The organization had reported late Monday night that it had come under a sustained cyberattack after announcing on social media its plan to leak hundreds of thousands of documents on "Turkish power."On Wednesday, using the hashtag #TurkeyPurge, WikiLeaks confirmed Erdogan's government had ordered the site be blocked and offered users advice on proxies and IPs to use to access the site.

The most recent emails were sent on July 6 and the oldest dates back to 2010, WikiLeaks said.

'Crackdown of exceptional proportions'

Rights group Amnesty International said that authorities had canceled 34 journalists' press cards and called on Turkish authorities to not "arbitrarily restrict freedom of expression."

"We are witnessing a crackdown of exceptional proportions in Turkey at the moment," said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International's Turkey researcher.

"Turkey's people are still reeling from the shocking events of the weekend and it is vital that press freedom and the unhindered circulation of information are protected, rather than stifled."

The Turkish President's supporters celebrate after soldiers surrendered on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge.

State broadcaster TRT also lost 370 staff members, who have been suspended, according to CNN Turk.

Hundreds more have been suspended from the Prime Minister's office and government bodies dealing with religious affairs, family and social policy and development have been suspended. The total fired or suspended is around 50,000 people.

More than 9,000 people are currently in detention and are under investigation over the coup, according to Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus.

Turkey's Council of Higher Education also demanded all universities suspend academic assignments abroad and that an investigation be launched into all staff linked to what it calls the "Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization," Anadolu reported.

At least 232 people were killed and more than 1,4000 injured when elements of the military launched the attempted coup Friday night. Erdogan called on people to take to the streets, where bloody clashes broke out.

Erdogan was chairing a meeting with the National Security Council on Wednesday afternoon, according to Nic Robertson, CNN international diplomatic editor.

The President and the council would later inform the Cabinet on the state of the country's security and how to respond to it. Erdogan is expected to give a speech afterward.

The Turkish people are waiting to see if any emergency measures will be imposed.

Will Gulen be extradited?

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Erdogan on Tuesday about the coup and the status of Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania.

 

Soldiers sent for president told target a 'terrorist'Soldiers sent to apprehend Erdogan during the attempted coup were told they were to "capture an important terrorist leader," Anadolu reported.

The soldiers involved in the President's apprehension were informed of the details of the coup as they were being airlifted to a hotel in a resort town where Erdogan and his family were vacationing during Friday's deadly attempted takeover.It is unclear how many soldiers participated in the attack, during which two of Erdogan's bodyguards were killed, and it is unclear how loyal the troops were, given that they were briefed on the coup so late in proceedings.

Meanwhile, Erdogan's military aide, Lt. Col. Erkan Kivrak, has been taken into custody in southern Turkey for alleged ties to the plotters, according to Anadolu.

Several senior figures in the military are facing court in Ankara, military officials have said.

CNN's Euan McKirdy, Hamdi Alkhshali, Andrew Carey, Sara Ganim, Nic Robertson, Salma Abdelaziz, Onur Cakir and Gul Tuysuz contributed to this report. Isil Sariyuce reported from Istanbul. Journalist Angela Dewan wrote from London.

source + more foto's and video's : http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/20/europe/turkey-failed-coup-attempt/index.html
 

 

 

 

[excedo]

Erdogan is going crazy... destroying slowly a country that a man called; Ataturk builded... sad.

[LazyHippo]

If you ask me, Erdogan made a self-coup (or he permitted one) to go against all his opposition in the country and neutralize it.

Very sad situation.