Almost 9,000 people have been detained since the foiled coup on Friday night.
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Erdogan told CNN in an exclusive interview on Monday that if he had stayed in the hotel for 10 or 15 more minutes, he would have been killed or captured.
Addressing hundreds of supporters outside his Istanbul residence, Mr Erdogan responded to calls for the reintroduction of the death penalty with the simple statement: “You can not put aside the people’s demands”.
“Let’s hang them!” chanted crowds in Ankara’s central Kizilay square late on Saturday. However, this would be at least the seventh time this year they’ve talked by phone or in person, often about the turmoil with the Islamic State but also after the Orlando and Istanbul terror attacks.
The violence shocked the nation of nearly 80 million, once seen as a model Muslim democracy, where living standards have grown steadily for more than a decade and where the army last used force to stage a successful coup more than 30 years ago.
His comments follow those of the head of European Union foreign affairs Federica Mogeherini, who also said Turkey would be barred from joining the block if they reinstated capital punishment.
While US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Turkey to uphold democracy and human rights as it pursues the military officers and anyone else involved in the plot.
Brussels commissioner Johannes Hahn revealed that the country’s autocratic leader had drawn up an arrest list of 3,000 judges before soldiers took to the streets in an apparent attempt to claim power.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said it would be unacceptable for Turkey to reintroduce the death penalty, which it abolished in 2004. The main CHP opposition said the response to the coup attempt must be conducted within the rule of law and that the plotters should face trial. Gulen denies any involvement.
The official said Turkey’s military command had been dealt “a heavy blow in terms of organisation” but was still functioning in coordination with the intelligence agency, police and the government.
The government alleged the coup conspirators were loyal to moderate US -based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan has often accused of trying to overthrow the government. He has long accused the cleric of trying to create a “parallel state” within the courts, police, armed forces and media.
A Syrian government newspaper has also said the coup was fabricated by President Erdogan in an attempt to “avenge the military and strip it of its remaining support”.
The top eurocrat, who is dealing with Turkey’s membership bid, suggested that events of the so-called coup and the subsequent assault on democratic freedoms had been “prepared”.
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“I’m very concerned. It is exactly what we feared”. “In our assessment, this group acted out of a sense of emergency when they realized that they were under investigation”.
