After a coup attempt last week failed to topple him and his government, President Erdogan also decreed that suspects can be detained for up to 30 days without charges – a stark change from the previous maximum of four days.
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The state of emergency, which was approved by the Parliament on Thursday, allows the government to pass laws without first having to win parliamentary support.
Turkey has asked Pakistan to shut all institutions being run by Fethullah Gulen – the US-based cleric whom Ankara accuses of masterminding and backing the July 16 failed military coup attempt in that country, a media report said on Saturday.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has continued his government’s political purge in the fallout from last week’s failed coup, closing 2,341 institutions including schools, charities and trade unions in a bid to purge the country of Fethullah Gulen supporters, whom the government is blaming for last week’s failed military coup.
Turkey announced new details about the state of emergency, including extending the period that suspects can be detained without charges to up to a week.
Additionally, more than 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, teachers and civil servants have been suspended, detained or placed under investigation in the past week.
He rejected the European criticism of his response to the coup attempt, saying that “they are biased, they are prejudiced, and they will continue to act in this prejudiced manner towards Turkey”.
Muhammet Sait Gulen will be taken to the capital Ankara after he was detained in Erzurum, the eastern region where his 75-year-old uncle is said to have developed his deep convictions, close to his birthplace of Korucuk.
“This is a day to unite, a day to stand up against coups and dictatorial regimes, a day to let the voice of the people be heard”, he said from a podium at the rally, organised by his secularist opposition CHP but also backed by the ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party and by other opposition groups.
President Erdogan declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.
The crackdowns are part of seismic changes that have rocked Turkey since the shock of the coup attempt that claimed 270 lives.
Private broadcaster NTV reported that Turkey’s military council will meet under Erdogan’s supervision on July 28, a few days earlier than planned.
He also confirmed that President Erdogan had pressed him to hand over Gulen, but said he had told the Turkish leader that it was not his decision to make.
US Secretary of State John Kerry had sought concrete proof against Gulen from Turkey before any extradition proceeding could be initiated by the US government.
It is the first time a relative of Mr Gulen’s has been reported detained since the failed coup. “With this new structure, I believe the armed forces will get fresh blood”, Erdogan said.
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The arrested coup plotters “are starting to confess”, Erdogan told France-24 television in an interview on Saturday, stressing that, according to the testimonies of the coup leaders, they “were given instructions from Pennsylvania”.
