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

A supporter holds a flag depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a pro-government demonstration in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. (Reuters)
A supporter holds a flag depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a pro-government demonstration in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. (Reuters)
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Turkey Sacks over 2,000 Public Employees over ‘Terror’ Links

A supporter holds a flag depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a pro-government demonstration in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. (Reuters)
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.



Iran Tells France its Nuclear Rights ‘Cannot Be Taken Away by Threats or War'

This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)
This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)
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Iran Tells France its Nuclear Rights ‘Cannot Be Taken Away by Threats or War'

This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)
This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that his country's right to pursue a civilian nuclear program cannot be taken away by war, as it traded fire with Israel for a ninth day.

"Iran has always announced that it is ready to provide guarantees and build confidence in its peaceful nuclear activities within the framework of international law," Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call, according to the official IRNA news agency.

"The rights granted to countries and nations by international law cannot be taken away from them by threats or war."