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| Erdoğan bans academics from travel and holds first post-coup meeting | Erdoğan bans academics from travel and holds first post-coup meeting |
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| Concerns are mounting over the Turkish government’s purge of state institutions after last week’s attempted coup, as a massive crackdown widened to take in a travel ban on academics and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his senior security staff and cabinet officials. | Concerns are mounting over the Turkish government’s purge of state institutions after last week’s attempted coup, as a massive crackdown widened to take in a travel ban on academics and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his senior security staff and cabinet officials. |
| The meeting between Erdoğan and senior staff at a national security summit in Ankara was the first time they have come together since the attempted coup, which killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands, and which the government has blamed on followers of Fethullah Gülen, an exiled cleric in Pennsylvania. | The meeting between Erdoğan and senior staff at a national security summit in Ankara was the first time they have come together since the attempted coup, which killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands, and which the government has blamed on followers of Fethullah Gülen, an exiled cleric in Pennsylvania. |
| Related: Turkey coup attempt: Erdoğan demands US arrest exiled cleric Gülen amid crackdown on army – as it happened | Related: Turkey coup attempt: Erdoğan demands US arrest exiled cleric Gülen amid crackdown on army – as it happened |
| The cabinet is expected to announce a series of emergency measures to stabilise the country, amid ongoing purges of the civil service, bureaucracy, judiciary and security forces on a scale unseen in recent memory. | The cabinet is expected to announce a series of emergency measures to stabilise the country, amid ongoing purges of the civil service, bureaucracy, judiciary and security forces on a scale unseen in recent memory. |
| Some 60,000 bureaucrats, soldiers, policemen, prosecutors and academic staff have come under the government’s spotlight, many of them facing detention or suspension over alleged links to the Gülenist movement and the coup plotters. | Some 60,000 bureaucrats, soldiers, policemen, prosecutors and academic staff have come under the government’s spotlight, many of them facing detention or suspension over alleged links to the Gülenist movement and the coup plotters. |
| On Wednesday, the government imposed a work travel ban on academics, which, a senior Turkish official said, was a temporary measure as accomplices of the coup plotters in universities were a potential flight risk. | |
| All 1,577 deans of public and private universities in Turkey submitted their resignations at the government’s urging. This came after 20,000 teachers and administrators were suspended from their jobs as a result of the coup, along with 6,000 soldiers and more than 2,700 judges and prosecutors, and dozens of senior generals accused of involvement in the coup. | All 1,577 deans of public and private universities in Turkey submitted their resignations at the government’s urging. This came after 20,000 teachers and administrators were suspended from their jobs as a result of the coup, along with 6,000 soldiers and more than 2,700 judges and prosecutors, and dozens of senior generals accused of involvement in the coup. |
| The scale of the crackdown prompted the UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, to express “serious alarm”, urging the Turkish authorities to respect human rights in the aftermath of the coup. | The scale of the crackdown prompted the UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, to express “serious alarm”, urging the Turkish authorities to respect human rights in the aftermath of the coup. |
| Related: Fethullah Gülen: alleged coup mastermind – and friendly neighbor | Related: Fethullah Gülen: alleged coup mastermind – and friendly neighbor |
| He said: “In the aftermath of such a traumatic experience, it is particularly crucial to ensure that human rights are not squandered in the name of security and in the rush to punish those perceived to be responsible. | He said: “In the aftermath of such a traumatic experience, it is particularly crucial to ensure that human rights are not squandered in the name of security and in the rush to punish those perceived to be responsible. |
| “The mass suspension or removal of judges is cause for serious alarm, and reports that many have been subject to detention orders also raises concerns of arbitrary detention.” | “The mass suspension or removal of judges is cause for serious alarm, and reports that many have been subject to detention orders also raises concerns of arbitrary detention.” |
| Turkey also blocked access on Wednesday to the website WikiLeaks, which on Tuesday night published a tranche of thousands of emails of members of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP). | Turkey also blocked access on Wednesday to the website WikiLeaks, which on Tuesday night published a tranche of thousands of emails of members of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP). |
| The emails date from 2010 to 6 July this year and were obtained before the attempted coup. The date of their publication was brought forward “in response to the government’s post-coup purges”, WikiLeaks said on its website, adding that the source of the emails was not connected to the coup plotters or to a rival political party or state. | The emails date from 2010 to 6 July this year and were obtained before the attempted coup. The date of their publication was brought forward “in response to the government’s post-coup purges”, WikiLeaks said on its website, adding that the source of the emails was not connected to the coup plotters or to a rival political party or state. |
| Turkey’s telecommunications board said an “administrative measure” had been taken against the website – the term it commonly uses when blocking access to sites. Turkey routinely uses internet shutdowns in response to political events, which critics and human rights advocates see as part of a broader attack on the media and freedom of expression. | Turkey’s telecommunications board said an “administrative measure” had been taken against the website – the term it commonly uses when blocking access to sites. Turkey routinely uses internet shutdowns in response to political events, which critics and human rights advocates see as part of a broader attack on the media and freedom of expression. |
| A senior Turkish official said the ban was imposed on the WikiLeaks content because it constituted stolen or illegally obtained information. | A senior Turkish official said the ban was imposed on the WikiLeaks content because it constituted stolen or illegally obtained information. |
| Turkey says the attempted putsch on Friday, which saw tanks, fighter jets and helicopters piloted by officers and elite troops, including from the country’s equivalent of Navy Seals, and which came close to shooting down Erdoğan’s plane, was planned and executed by followers of Gülen and allies within the officer corps. | Turkey says the attempted putsch on Friday, which saw tanks, fighter jets and helicopters piloted by officers and elite troops, including from the country’s equivalent of Navy Seals, and which came close to shooting down Erdoğan’s plane, was planned and executed by followers of Gülen and allies within the officer corps. |
| The rebel soldiers also attacked the Ankara police headquarters and the national intelligence service facilities, in an apparent attempt to seize the director of intelligence, Hakan Fidan. | The rebel soldiers also attacked the Ankara police headquarters and the national intelligence service facilities, in an apparent attempt to seize the director of intelligence, Hakan Fidan. |
| Intelligence sources say many of the officers who took part in the coup were on a list of some 600 high-ranking military personnel accused of Gülenist ties that was submitted by the national intelligence service to the army’s headquarters last Tuesday. The officers were facing dismissal in August during the annual appointments and promotions in the Turkish military. | Intelligence sources say many of the officers who took part in the coup were on a list of some 600 high-ranking military personnel accused of Gülenist ties that was submitted by the national intelligence service to the army’s headquarters last Tuesday. The officers were facing dismissal in August during the annual appointments and promotions in the Turkish military. |
| Fresh details emerged on the coup attempt on Wednesday, with testimony published in the newspaper Hurriyet by a senior general who said the coup plotters attempted to persuade General Hulusi Akar, the chief of staff taken hostage during the putsch, to back the rebels, but he refused. A Turkish official confirmed the authenticity of the testimony. | Fresh details emerged on the coup attempt on Wednesday, with testimony published in the newspaper Hurriyet by a senior general who said the coup plotters attempted to persuade General Hulusi Akar, the chief of staff taken hostage during the putsch, to back the rebels, but he refused. A Turkish official confirmed the authenticity of the testimony. |
| Senior army commanders publicly condemned the coup as it was unfolding, a stance that Turkish officials credit with playing a key role in its failure. | Senior army commanders publicly condemned the coup as it was unfolding, a stance that Turkish officials credit with playing a key role in its failure. |