Turkey declared a state of emergency after a failed coup in 2016 and extended it seven times.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged not to prolong it when it expires at midnight Wednesday. (Reuters Photo/File)
Ankara: As Turkey’s controversial two-year-long state of emergency comes to an end, the government is set to introduce new anti-terrorism laws that the opposition insists are just as oppressive. Turkey declared a state of emergency after a failed coup in 2016 and extended it seven times. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged not to prolong it when it expires at midnight Wednesday.
Instead, Parliament is scheduled to debate government-proposed legislation that would allow authorities to press ahead with mass dismissals of civil servants and hold suspects for up to 12 days.
Under the state of emergency, Turkey has arrested over 75,000 people for alleged links to Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric whom Ankara blames for the failed attempt. Some 130,000 civil servants have been purged from government jobs.
Gulen denies involvement.
- AP