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Turkey Sacks over 2,000 Public Employees over ‘Terror’ Links

Turkey Sacks over 2,000 Public Employees over ‘Terror’ Links

Sunday, 24 December, 2017 - 12:00
A supporter holds a flag depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a pro-government demonstration in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. (Reuters)

Turkish authorities announced on Sunday that they had dismissed over 2,000 public employees for their links to “terrorist” organizations.


Some 2,756 people were sacked from their jobs in public institutions including soldiers, teachers and ministry personnel over their terror connections, said a decree published in the Official Gazette.


The dismissed personnel were found to be members of, or linked to, “terror” groups, structures and entities that act against national security.


Some 50,000 people have been arrested since a failed putsch in July last year and about 150,000 have been dismissed or suspended from their posts, including soldiers, police, teachers and public servants, over alleged links with the movement of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.


The government accused Gulen of organizing the attempted coup.


Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied the accusation and condemned the coup.


Rights groups and some Western allies fear President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using the attempted coup as a pretext to stifle dissent.


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