Sweeping purges in the aftermath of the thwarted coup has seen the dismissal of thousands from the judiciary, police force, military and bureaucracy.
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Turkey will remove the movement of US -based cleric Fethullah Gulen “by its roots” so it can never betray the Turkish people again, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday, vowing to furnish USA authorities with evidence of his wrongdoing.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus declined to provide any details from the files, but said they contained information on past activities by the Gulen-led Hizmet movement.
And the authorities acted swiftly – cancelling licences for radio and television stations said to be linked to the so-called Gulenists.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency says courts have ordered 85 generals and admirals jailed pending trial over their roles in the coup attempt.
The crackdown was escalated Tuesday, as the government announced the firing of almost 24,000 teachers and Interior Ministry employees and demanded the resignations of another 1,577 university deans as well as hundreds of other government employees.
Thousands of soldiers, police and officials have been detained or sacked since Friday’s coup attempt.
Speaking through a translator, President Erdogan called the attempt a “clear crime of treason”.
Yildirim warned Turks against exacting revenge on backers of the attempted overthrow, after disturbing pictures emerged of rough treatment meted out to suspects. “This is unacceptable in a state governed by rule of law”.
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today once again demonstrated he will go to any length necessary to solidify his power and persecute his critics”, Mr. Gulen said.
The president and other officials have strongly suggested the government is considering reinstating the death penalty, a practice abolished in 2004 as part of Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.
The cut in the marginal rate is meant to shore up liquidity in the economy amid market concerns over the impact of Friday’s attempted coup. Akin Ozturk, who is alleged to be a ringleader of the uprising.
Last week’s coup bid was the most serious threat to Erdogan since he took power first as prime minister in 2003, and saw rebel troops close down bridges in Istanbul, parliament bombed from the sky and protesters shot in the streets.
It has raised deep concerns about the stability of the strategic North Atlantic Treaty Organisation partner, which has a key base used in the US-led fight against the Islamic State group and which houses a large nuclear weapons stockpile. The organization says the emails date up until July 7, just over a week before the coup was launched last Friday night.
This is a concern given that Turkey has witnessed 14 major bomb attacks over the past year carried out by IS or the Kurdish separatists, the PKK.
Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen speaks to members of the media at his compound, Sunday, July 17, 2016, in Saylorsburg, Pa.
United Nations rights chief Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein urged a fair trial for the suspects and voiced “serious alarm” over the mass suspension of judges.
The request is just the latest move by the Turkish government, which has responded to the failed coup with an iron fist.
Kerry added that Turkey must “uphold the highest standards for the country’s democratic institutions and the rule of law”. “I don’t believe this government will pay attention to anything that is not legally sound”. Turkish media said on Monday he had denied this to prosecutors, saying he had tried to prevent the attempted putsch.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for worldwide observers to be stationed at detention centers to make sure those accused of being involved in the coup attempt have access to lawyers and their families.
He told CNN his life had been in grave danger.
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He said on Monday he might have died if he had left Marmaris any later and that two of his bodyguards had been killed.
