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.
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The Turkish government was also quick to point the finger at the Fettulah Gulen, a one-time Erdogan ally who has been in a self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.
Istanbul/Ankara – Turkey widened a crackdown on suspected supporters of a failed military coup on Sunday, taking the number of people rounded up in the armed forces and judiciary to 6,000, and the government said it was in control of the country and economy.
The Turkish government accuses cleric Fethullah Gulen of being behind the plot.
For the fourth night in a row, hundreds took to public squares in major cities, including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, in a fresh show of support for the government.
“We have sent four dossiers to the United States for the extradition of the terrorist chief”.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says 208 people lost their lives in the July 15 military coup attempt, while 7,500 people were detained in connection with the attempt.
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.
“NATO also has a requirement with respect to democracy, and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will indeed measure very carefully what is happening”, Kerry said Monday during a news conference in Brussels. “We are the ones saying today rule of law has to be protected in the country”, she said in Brussels.
Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 as part of its long-running efforts to join the European Union – and the bloc’s foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini responded bluntly to the suggestion it could be reinstated.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to purge state bodies of the “virus” that had caused the revolt.
The EU is a “community of values, therefore the institution of the death penalty can only mean that such a country could not be a member”, Steffen Seibert said in Berlin. “No country can become an European Union member state if it introduces [the] death penalty”, Mogherini said on Monday.
Also Monday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the USA military were taken off-guard by the coup attempt.
Thirty regional governors and more than 50 high-ranking civil servants had also been dismissed, CNN Turk said.
The authorities rounded up almost 3,000 suspected military plotters, including top commanders and foot soldiers, on Saturday and ordered thousands of judges detained after forces loyal to Erdogan crushed the attempted coup. Dozens of others were still being questioned.
According to Anadolu, those formally arrested include former air force commander Gen. Akin Ozturk, described as the ringleader of Friday’s foiled uprising, is among them.
A Turkish official acknowledged that Gulen’s followers in the armed forces had been under investigation for some time, but denied that an arrest list had been prepared in advance.
Turkey has requested their extradition; they have applied for asylum in Greece.
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He frequently refers to “masterminds” who he says are bent on breaking up Turkey, in what appears a veiled reference to the West in general, and more specifically, the United States.
