A total of 7,348 people, including 302 academics, have been dismissed from state institutions by a new government decree, known as a KHK, that went into effect on Friday, the Diken news website reported.
According to the report, in line with decree No. 692 the number of people purged and their institutions is as follows:
“418 from the Justice Ministry, 2,303 from the police, 551 from the Religious Affairs Directorate [Diyanet], 45 from the Foreign Ministry, 1,486 from the Interior Ministry, 102 from the Education Ministry, 789 from the Health Ministry, 302 from the Higher Education Board [YÖK], 546 from the Turkish military, 29 from the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation [TRT] and 235 from the gendarmerie.”
Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15.
In accordance with the decree, 342 former members of the Turkish military have been deprived of their previous rank. Additionally, medals that were given to former national football stars Hakan Şükür and Arif Erdem were also withdrawn.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.
Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ announced on July 7, 2017 that at least 50,504 people have been arrested and 168,801 are the subject of legal proceedings. (turkishminute.com) July 14, 2017
