Turkey sacks thousands more police, academics

  • 15/07/2017
Fethullah Gulen
The decree is part of a crackdown triggered by the failed coup, which Turkey says was organised by Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Turkey has dismissed more than 7000 police, civil servants and academics on the eve of the anniversary of last year's attempted coup.

The decree is part of a crackdown triggered by the failed coup, which Turkey says was organised by US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of President Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr Gulen denies the allegation.

Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 150,000 officials, and arrested some 50,000 people from the military, police, judiciary, academia and other sectors.

The latest decree dismissed 2303 police, including some from senior ranks, alongside 302 academics from universities across the country.

The decree also stripped 342 retired officers and soldiers of their ranks and grades.

More than 240 people, most of them civilians, were killed last July when rogue soldiers tried to overthrow Erdogan's government.

Reuters.