Turkey launched fresh raids and sacked almost 9,000 officials yesterday in a relentless crackdown against suspects behind an attempted coup that left over 300 people dead, as Western allies warned against reinstating the death penalty.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to wipe out the “virus” of the putschists after facing down the coup bid by elements of the military disgruntled with what they see as his increasingly iron-fisted 13-year rule.
But the United States and European Union have sternly warned him against excessive retribution as the authorities round up the alleged perpetrators of Friday’s attempted power grab.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman denounced “revolting scenes of caprice and revenge against soldiers on the streets” after disturbing pictures emerged of the treatment of some detained suspects.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said over 7,500 people have been detained so far, including 103 generals and admirals, in the investigation into Friday’s coup which Erdogan has blamed on his arch-enemy, the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.
The interior ministry said almost 9,000 police, municipal governors and other officials had also been dismissed in a widening purge.
Early yesterday, special Istanbul anti-terror police units raided the prestigious air force military academy, detaining four suspects, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The authorities have also detained General Mehmet Disli, who conducted the operation to capture chief-of-staff Hulusi Akar during the stand-off, an official said.
The 103 generals detained are accused of seeking to violate the constitution and attempting to overthrow the authorities by force, as well as belonging to what the authorities call the Fethullahci Terror Organisation (FETO) led by Gulen.
Erdogan has urged citizens to remain on the streets even after the defeat of the coup, in what the authorities describe as a “vigil” for democracy
