Turkey extends state of emergency by a further 3 months
Source: Associated Press
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey announced Monday that it is extending a three-month-long state of emergency, declared after the country's failed military coup, by a further three months as it presses ahead with a massive crackdown on a movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters after a weekly Cabinet meeting that the state of emergency — introduced five days after the failed July 15 coup that killed at least 270 people — will be prolonged by another 90 days from Oct. 19.
The state of emergency has allowed the government to rule through decrees, often bypassing parliament and facilitating authorities' clampdown on the Gulen movement, accused of orchestrating the uprising. Turkey has so far arrested some 32,000 people in connection with the coup while tens of thousands of people have been dismissed or suspended from government jobs including the police, military and judiciary.
Turkey's main opposition party and human rights groups have, however, accused the government of using emergency powers to clamp down on other dissenting voices — not just the Gulen movement.
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Associated Press Published: October 3, 2016 10:36 AM CDT Updated: October 3, 2016 10:36 AM CDT
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