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Human Rights in Turkey ‘in Great Danger’ After Attempted Military Coup

The coup attempt, which was launched late Friday night in Turkey, was eventually crushed by Turkish forces loyal to Erdogan.

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Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said he had summoned the Turkish ambassador to explain embassy comments that local authorities have excessively close ties with Mr Erdogan’s opponents.

Yildirim said Turkey needed to ensure “100 percent security” of the whole country.

Almost 20,000 members of the police, civil service, judiciary and army have already been detained or suspended since Friday night’s coup.

Following a National Security Council meeting in Ankara, Mr Erdogan gathered ruling AK Party government ministers as well as the full Cabinet in a series of meetings. The emergency rule was gradually lifted by 2002.

The pro-government death toll in the botched coup was 246.

He told US broadcaster CNN that he narrowly escaped death after coup plotters stormed the resort town of Marmaris where he was vacationing.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the extradition of Fetullah Gulen from the USA during a telephone call with President Barack Obama on Tuesday, the White House said.

The United States “is a country of law”, added the cleric. The cleric’s movement, which espouses moderation and multi-faith harmony, says it is a scapegoat for what it describes as the president’s increasingly autocratic conduct.

While Erdogan is seeking to consolidate the power of his elected government after the rebellion, his crackdown could further polarize a country that once enjoyed a reputation for relative stability in the turbulent Middle East region. Dozens of others were still being questioned.

What is more, he said: “I don’t know those people who led the coup”.

Some 15,200 public education employees were suspended and are being investigated for possible links to Gulen, the Ministry of Education said.

The agency said the schools are linked to Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan who lives in Pennsylvania and has denied accusations that he engineered the coup attempt.

“There will be legal evidence collected in this investigation and we will present all of this to the Americans as part of our extradition request”, he said. Appropriately, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said that the US would consider a request for Gulen’s extradition only if Turkey offered “legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny”.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Turkey has opened up military bases to American forces in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Amnesty International said it was alarmed by the widening crackdown.

Some of Turkey’s soldiers involved in the coup are essentially claiming to have been duped, attacking Erdogan’s vacation hotel on Friday because they were told an “important terrorist leader” was the target.

At the height of the abortive coup, the rebel pilots of two F-16 fighter jets had Erdogan’s plane in their sights as he returned to Istanbul from a holiday on the coast.

The country’s higher education board meanwhile demanded that 1,577 deans at universities resign, state-run news agency Anadolu reported on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim accused Washington, which said it will only consider extradition if clear evidence is provided, of double standards in its fight against terrorism.

But the Turkish government, which has demanded the extradition of Mr. Gulen while insinuating that the United States may have backed the coup, remains unapologetic. More than 7,500 people have been detained.

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Among those detained are at least 118 generals and admirals, accounting for a third of the general-rank command of the Turkish military, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.

Turkish government post-coup purge widens
     
    
                   
     
     
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