Photograph — tr.eurosport.com

Some 58000 Turks, soldiers, teachers, civil servants, judges, and the police, have lost their jobs over the failed military coup of last weekend. Some are detained, others suspended, and a few more placed under investigation as part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown against supporters of the coup that almost toppled him.

Moving swiftly to entrench his power, Erdogan announced a state of emergency yesterday, which he said will last at least three months to enable his government “cleanse all state institutions” of those involved in the botched coup attempt. As explained by the BBC, the declared emergency “allows the presidency to bypass parliament when drafting new laws and to restrict or suspend rights and freedoms.”

Several high ranking military officials have been arrested, including Erdogan’s chief military adviser, Ali Yazici, and the Second Army commander, General Adem Hudati. BBC gives the estimate of those sacked, suspended, or detained so far to be:

21,000 teachers have had their licences revoked

15,200 education ministry staff fired

8,000 police sacked, plus 1,000 arrested

7,500 soldiers arrested

3,000 members of the judiciary have been suspended, including 1,481 judges and 262 military judges and prosecutors

1,577 university deans asked to quit

1,500 finance ministry staff fired

492 religious leaders, teachers and preachers sacked

393 social policy ministry staff sacked

257 staff in prime minister’s office fired

100 intelligence officials suspended,

Over 100 generals and admirals detained, and

34 journalists have had their press cards cancelled and 25 media houses have had their licenses revoked.

President Erdogan had earlier said that he would not rule out the reintroduction of the death penalty for the people who plotted the coup, adding that it is what the people want. “Why should I keep them and feed them in prisons, for years to come? Erdogan said in an interview. “The people now have the idea, after so many terrorist incidents, that these terrorists should be killed, that’s where they are, they don’t see any other outcome to it”, he said.

But Germany and human rights organization, Amnesty International, have spoken out against this likely decision by the Turkish government. A spokesperson, Steffen Seibert, for the German government has said Turkey will be denied membership in the European Union if it reinstates the death penalty.

“A country that has the death penalty can’t be a member of the European Union and the introduction of the death penalty in Turkey would therefore mean the end of accession negotiations.” John Dalhuisen, the director of Amnesty International Europe and Central Asia said “cracking down on dissent and threatening to bring back the death penalty are not justice.”

However, President Erdogan insists that the state of emergency only aims to root out the “virus” behind the coup, and will not affect the daily life of Turkish citizens. If anything, the president says it “aims to protect democracy and human rights.”

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