Turkish jets strike rebels in Iraq following failed coup

“The fact that so many judges have been detained, never mind the workload at the courthouses, will render them inoperable”, said Vildan Yirmibesoglu, a human rights lawyer.

Amnesty called on authorities to protect press freedoms while they investigate the failed coup.

Also, 21,000 people working in private education will have their licences removed and banned from teaching in the future. In addition, thousands of other state employees have been fired in half a dozen agencies, all accused of being Gulen followers. The attempt was prevented by military troops loyal to the government, along with police units and millions of Turkish citizens in favor of democracy.

The Turkish government has blamed Friday’s failed coup on Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania in self-exile.

On July 15, a small military junta linked to the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ) attempted to topple the democratically elected government in Turkey and bring martial law.

The agency did not specify what kind of treatment the officers were receiving at the Gulhane Military Medical Academy.

Saribey was captured by police officers during a vehicle check in the Ula district of Turkey’s southwestern province of Mugla.

Turkey’s National Security Council is holding an emergency meeting today.

One British lecturer at a state-run university in Istanbul said that foreign nationals had also been told to come back to work.

Gulen denies any involvement in the failed coup.

Turkey’s Telecommunications Communications Board said on Wednesday that an “administrative measure” had been taken against the website – the term it commonly uses when blocking access to sites.

The purges against suspected Gulen supporters follow earlier aggressive moves by Erdogan’s administration against Gulen loyalists in the government, police and judiciary following corruption probes targeting Erdogan associates and family members in late 2013 – prosecutions the government says were orchestrated by Gulen. Now, there is news that they have filed. Any formal, legal application for extradition would be handled by the U.S. Justice Department.

Last Friday’s attempted coup by rogue elements of the military resulted in the martyring of at least 240 people and the injuring of almost 1,500 others.

F-16 jets pounded targets belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in Iraq’s Hakurk region.

“I will approve capital punishment if it’s passed by parliament”, he said.

According to The Guardian, the president defended the ensuing clampdown, in which thousands have been arrested or sacked, media outlets shut down and the reintroduction of the death penalty discussed, while saying that citizens should not have “the slightest concern with regards to democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms”.

The pro-government death toll in the botched coup has been estimated at 246.

Turkish media also reported that Levent Turkkan, a lieutenant colonel and aide to General Hulusi Akar, had confessed to helping the coup.

“The United States government is focused on what we can do together between two countries to help Turkey pursue this investigation”, he stressed.

The three-month emergency status gives the President and his Cabinet sweeping new powers that Erdogan says are aimed at tackling a looming threat to democracy.

Erdogan claimed the coup attempt might not have ended and there could be “more plans” to forcefully seize power in the country, AFP reported.