Thousands took to the streets of Turkey Saturday in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after authorities crushed a military coup that claimed at least 265 lives.
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The statement said the army had first received intelligence that a coup was underway at 4 pm local time (1300 GMT) on July 15 and that it had alerted the relevant authorities. 27 Turkish generals and admirals were detained on suspicion of being involved in the coup. “The coup attempt unleashed appalling violence and those responsible for unlawful killings and other human rights abuses must be brought to justice, but cracking down on dissent and threatening to bring back the death penalty are not justice”, said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia.
Early Monday, special Istanbul anti-terror police units raided the prestigious air force military academy, detaining four suspects, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
But former Turkish air force chief, Akin Ozturk has also been accused of leading the coup, an accusation Ozturk has denied.
Public servants annual leave has meanwhile been cancelled until further notice. “We share concerns about what is happening in the country in these hours”. “Let me be very clear”, she said.
German officials said they had seen no evidence of any conspiracy in the events, beyond an effort by parts of the Turkish military to seize control of the government. “No country can become an European Union state if it introduces the death penalty”.
The facility is used by the US-led coalition to launch air strikes on the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) group in Iraq and Syria.
It has also hit financial markets, with the lira at one point losing five per cent in value against the dollar although it rallied slightly on Monday.
The Turkish government has accused exiled religious leader Fetullah Gulen of being the mastermind.
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But the 75-year-old has categorically denied any involvement in the plot and suggested it could have been staged by Erdogan himself.
