Purges in Turkey following the 2016 Turkish coup attempt

In January 2014, during a major corruption inquiry in Turkey, 96 judges and prosecutors, including the chief prosecutor of İzmir, Huseyin Bas, were transferred to new locations, ending the investigations. Bas was transferred to Samsun. Altogether 120 judges and prosecutors were reassigned. At the time, The Daily Telegraph described the events as "the biggest purge of the judiciary in [Turkey's] history". From 2014 to mid-2016, repeated purges of civilian, military and judicial officials took place in Turkey, mainly aimed at followers of Fethullah Gülen, a former colleague of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. == Sectors affected ==

During the first post-coup speech Erdoğan could address to the nation upon landing at Atatürk airport, he said, "This uprising is a gift from God to us because this will be a reason to cleanse our army". An extensive purge of the Turkish civil service began with Erdoğan warning his opponents that "they will pay a heavy price for this." The United Nations have been reported as failing to condemn the coup and resulting violence, due to disagreement between Egypt and other Security Council members on the wording of a resolution in that direction. Military , was accused of complicity in the attempted coup. Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced on 16 July 2016 that 2,839 soldiers of various ranks had been arrested. Among those arrested were at least 34 generals or admirals. A number of students of the Kuleli Military High School, enough to fill five buses, were also arrested. By 18 July 2016, a total of 103 generals and admirals have been detained by Turkish authorities in connection with the coup. Yasemin Özata Çetinkaya, the governor of Sinop Province, was removed from her duty and her husband, a colonel in the Turkish army, arrested. Major General Cahit Bakir, who commanded Turkish forces under NATO in Afghanistan, and Brigadier General Sener Topuc, responsible for education and aid in Afghanistan, have been detained by authorities in Dubai in connection with Turkey's failed coup. General Bekir Ercan Van, the commander of Incirlik Air Base, which the U.S. uses to carry out airstrikes against ISIL, was arrested by Turkish authorities for his stated role in plotting the failed military coup. He sought asylum from the United States but was denied. On Feb 15th 2025 Erhan Afyoncu, a high-ranking official of Erdogan government, admitted that many dismissed personnel were not directly linked to the coup attempt. He attributed the dismissals to intelligence reports and a software program named "Fetometre" (which translates as "FETO"-meter) targeting perceived Erdogan critics, suggesting widespread profiling rather than evidence-based removals. Police and judiciary . On 16 July 2016, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors of Turkey (HSYK) removed 2,745 Turkish judges from duty and ordered their detention. Two judges from the Constitutional Court of Turkey, Alparslan Altan and , were detained by Turkish authorities for stated ties with the Gülen movement, while 5 members of the HSYK had their membership revoked and 10 members of the Turkish Council of State were arrested on charges of being members of the parallel state. , 755 judges and prosecutors had been arrested in relation to the coup attempt.), recipient of human rights awards and judge Murat Arslan have been condemned to 10 years in prison for "participation to a terrorist organisation". No violent action or call for violence was reported, the statement being based on an anonymous denunciation and the presence of ByLock on his smartphone, an application he denies having installed on his phone. Politics and Figen Yüksekdağ had been arrested on terrorism charges Following the July 2016 attempt coup and first purges of the military, the Turkish government used the state of emergency to introduce amendments into Turkey's municipalities law. Articles 45 and 57 were introduced, which allow to remove an elected mayor from his duty. Before only a final conviction was reason enough to remove a mayor. Deputy Mayor of Istanbul's Şişli District, Cemil Candaş (tr), was shot in the head in his office by an unidentified assailant on 18 July 2016. Meanwhile, Turkish parliament was evacuated due to unidentified security concerns. Elections and HDP harassment In the 2014 Turkish local elections, the sister party of the HDP, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) won 97 district municipalities out of 1351 and 2 metropolitan municipalities out of 30. Starting in September 2016, the purges pushed upon the largely Kurdish political formations HDP and BDP. About a third of the HDP members, more than 11,000 people were detained, more than 3000 of them were formally arrested, while also 94 democratically elected mayors have been expelled from their posts. 2014's elected mayors were removed, detained, and subjected to politically motivated prosecutions. Elected mayors were replaced by government's appointees. The dismissal and municipal seizures are believed to be purely politically motivated, using ill-defined accusation of terrorism. were later arrested on charges of "membership to a terror organization." As of May 2020, both politicians remain arrested. Civil service Following a series of arrests and purges throughout the government, Prime Minister Yıldırım announced on 18 July 2016 that annual leave for all civil servants was suspended, and all those on leave were to return to work. Over three million civil servants were affected. In addition, public sector employees were banned from leaving the country. By the evening of 19 July 2016, the number of public sector employees suspended had reached 49,321. In the Ministry of Finance, more than 1500 employees were suspended. In the Prime Ministry, 257 employees, including six advisers, were suspended. The Presidency of Religious Affairs suspended 492 employees, among them three provincial muftis. The numbers of suspended personnel in the National Intelligence Organization and Ministry of Family and Social Policy were 100 and 393 respectively. On 20 July 2016, the Youth and Sports Minister Akif Çağatay Kılıç announced that 245 personnel within his ministry had been laid off. The Energy Ministry reports 300 employees were let go, and the Customs Ministry indicated 184 employees were dismissed. Education Immediate purge By far the greatest purge was in the Ministry of National Education, where 15,200 education ministry officials were suspended. For example, in Burdur, one school, one cram school and four student hostels were shut down on 20 July. In addition, a travel ban was placed on academics, preventing them from leaving the country. On 23 July 2016, Turkish authorities shut down 1,043 private schools, 1,229 charities and foundations, 19 trade unions, 15 universities and 35 medical institutions in his first emergency decree under the newly adopted emergency legislation. Forced cultural changes Academics have reported pre-2016 coup's changes in academic leadership, and sharp growing pressure after the 2013 Gezi Park protests and 2016 coup. The signatories have been subject to 2000 routine judicial hearings with usual 15 months suspended jail sentence, with no acquittal reported and about 30 actual imprisonments. Media , 10 December 2016 The licenses of 24 radio and television channels and the press cards of 34 journalists reported of being linked to Gülen were revoked. Two people were arrested for praising the coup attempt and insulting the Turkish President Erdoğan on social media. On 25 July, Nazlı Ilıcak was taken into custody. On 27 July 2016, Erdoğan shut down 16 television channels, 23 radio stations, 45 daily newspapers, 15 magazines and 29 publishing houses in another emergency decree under the newly adopted emergency legislation. The closed outlets include Gülen-affiliated Cihan News Agency, Samanyolu TV and the previously leading newspaper Zaman (including its English-language version ''Today's Zaman), but also the opposition daily newspaper Taraf'' which was known to be in close relations with the Gulen Movement. In late October 2015, Turkish authorities shut down 15 media outlets, including one of the world's only women's news agencies, and detained the editor-in-chief of the prominent secularist Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, "on accusations that they committed crimes on behalf of Kurdish militants and a network linked to the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen". Turkey has imprisoned more than 160 journalists, making it the world's biggest jailer of journalists. In May 2018, at a press conference with British PM Theresa May, Turkish President Erdoğan called Turkey's jailed journalists "terrorists". ==Extradition==

In August 2016 Turkish President Erdoğan gave the United States an ultimatum, demanding the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, the cleric said to be behind the failed 15 July coup attempt. Turkey demanded that Greece extradite eight Turkish soldiers who had fled there after the coup. On 11 August 2016, Bulgaria extradited Abdullah Büyük, a Turkish businessman being linked with the Gülen movement. == Purges by numbers ==

shakes hands in 2014 with General Erdal Öztürk, later arrested in connection with the failed coup.|alt=Mr Hagel, in a civilian suit, shakes hands with General Öztürk, in uniform. Initial purges The bulk of the purges happened in the 10 days following the coup. The government releasing data documenting the issue : Later purges, mass suspensions and mass arrests 2016 On 26 July 2016, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced that Turkey's EU membership process would come to an end if the death penalty was returned in Turkey. On 4 and 5 August 2016, the Istanbul and İzmir 1st Criminal Court of Peace issued an arrest warrant for U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen. On 17 August 2016, the government dismissed 2,300 more officers from the police force, 136 military officers and 196 employees from the information technology authority. On 18 August 2016, arrest warrants were issued for 187 suspects, including CEOs of leading companies in Turkey, with prosecutors also ordering the seizure of their assets. On 2 September 2016, Turkey announced a purge of about 11,500 teachers with stated links to PKK. On 11 September 2016, Turkey removed two dozen elected mayors, members of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), for stated links to Kurdish militants. and Erdem Gül were arrested facing sentences up to life imprisonment. On 4 October 2016, Turkish authorities suspend nearly 12,800 more police officers from duty over their suspected links with U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. On 29 October 2016, by decree, Turkey dismissed 10,131 more civil servants, while about 15 more media outlets were closed for stated ties to terrorist organizations and U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen. In early November 2016, security forces began mass arrests of opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs, including co-leaders Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ. On 22 November 2016, a decree announced 15,726 dismissals (security forces: 7,600, ministry of interior: 2,700, education: 1,200). The financial assets and properties of those organizations were to be seized by the Turkish Treasury. On 24 November 2016, the European Parliament unanimously accepted the call for a temporary freeze of the full membership negotiations between the EU and Turkey. On 12 December 2016, in reaction to prior Istanbul double bombing and Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) states, 118 HDP officials and supporters were arrested. On 21 December 2016, Turkey suspended another 1,980 teachers and school employees for stated connections to the coup attempt. On 25 December 2016, Turkey probes around 10,000 social media users for reportedly insulting government officials or supporting "terror-related activity." 2017 On 7 January 2017, and via three decrees, 8,390 more civil servants were dismissed (2,687 police officers, 1,699 civil servants from the justice ministry, 838 health officials, and hundreds others from other ministries, 631 academics, 8 members of the Council of State). In early February 2017, the Turkish government dismissed more than 4,400 public servants from their jobs, including over 300 university teachers. On 14 February 2017, the Turkish government arrested 834 people with stated links with PKK. The mass arrest has been linked to the constitutional referendum, to which most Kurdish factions are opposed. After the April 16 referendum, 38 activists denouncing irregularities were detained. 9,100 policemen have been suspended On 29 April 2017, Turkey blocked Wikipedia and dismissed 3,974 more civil servants. On 5 June, the Turkish interior ministry announces that 130 people, living outside the country and suspected of militant links, will lose their citizenship unless they return to Turkey within three months and meet government standards. Named suspects include U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen, and Peoples' Democratic Party leaders Faysal Sarıyıldız, Tuğba Hezer Öztürk, and . 15 June 2017, UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals judge Aydin Sedaf Akay was sentenced to 7½ years on charges of "membership in [to the Gulen movement, itself] a terrorist organization", despite Mr. Akay having diplomatic immunity due to his position at the UN MICT. On 6 July 2017, the European Parliament unanimously accepted the call for the suspension of full membership negotiations between the EU and Turkey. On 15 July, 7,400 more police were dismissed. On 24 December 2017, a decree announce the dismissal of 2,700 public officers. 2018 player Enes Kanter, who is both a Gulenist and an outspoken critic of Erdoğan. Kanter did not attend team and league functions held abroad as he feared for his safety if he ever left the United States. Turkey detained over 800 social media users and nearly 100 politicians and journalists who opposed the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin. On 8 July 2018, right before Erdogan new presidency with enlarged executive powers and the promised end of the state of emergency, 18,632 public officiers were dismissed by decree. Among them, 9,000-plus are police officers, 6,000-plus are members of the Turkish military, about 650 are teachers and about 200 academics. Three newspapers, one TV channel and 12 associations were also shut down. According to the Human Rights Watch, the new law "will allow authorities under the presidency, for the next three years, to dismiss judges and all other public officials arbitrarily. It also would allow the authorities to restrict movement within Turkey, ban public assemblies, and allow police to hold some suspects for up to 12 days without charge and repeatedly detain them in the same investigation." CHP parliamentary group leader Özgür Özel said that "With this bill, with the measures in this text, the state of emergency will not be extended for three months but for three years. They make it look like they are lifting the emergency, but in fact they are continuing it." On 14 August 2018, Turkish police arrested another German citizen on terrorism-related charges. German authorities said nine German nationals are currently in detention in Turkey for "political reasons." 2019 On 12 February, Turkey issued 1,112 more detention orders, under the charge of organizing the 2016 Turkey coup. According to Turkish government data from March 2019, about 500,000 people were detained since the coup attempt, of which about 30,000 were in custody at the time of the information. Erdogan reported in April 2019 of 31,000 employees of the police, as well as 15,000 members of the military, who had been removed from office since the coup d'état. On 28 July 2019, another German citizen, Osman B, was arrested on charges of running a "terror propaganda" using his Facebook account. He was arrested at a Turkish airport, while he was traveling for a family holiday. On 19 August 2019, the Turkish Ministry of Interior appointed trustees to the Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van metropolitan municipalities. In October 2019, Turkish police detained more than 120 online critics of the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria. Turkish prosecutor opened an investigation into "terrorist propaganda" against MPs Sezai Temelli and Pervin Buldan, co-leaders of the pro-Kurdish HDP party. Turkey arrested at least 151 members of the HDP, including district officials. Turkish authorities have also detained web editor of opposition BirGün newspaper and managing editor of the online news portal Diken. 2020 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, the Turkish parliament approved a bill which could enable the release of up to 100,000 prisoners, including people responsible for deaths. Political prisoners, journalists, are excluded from the pardon despite overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions already posing a severe health threat. The Turkish Interior Ministry has arrested social media users whose posts were "targeting officials and spreading panic and fear" by suggesting that COVID-19 "had spread widely in Turkey and that officials had taken insufficient measures". Several journalists, who were each reporting for local media, were detained for how they covered the pandemic. On 15 May 2020, the Turkish Ministry of Interior appointed trustees for the municipalities of Iğdır and Siirt, the Baykan and Kurtalan districts of Siirt, and the municipalities of Altınova town of Korkut district of Muş. Authorities had arrested or imprisoned more than 90,000 Turkish citizens by 2020. 2021 In February, following a failed operation in which 13 Turkey soldiers died, Turkey arrested 700 opposition members, maneuvering to shift blame onto the opposition and Americans. 2022 In 2022, Turkey demands the extradition of many members of the Gülen movement and PKK from Finland and Sweden, of which Sweden wants to become a NATO member. However, the two countries rejected Turkey's extradition requests. On 18 May 2022, Turkey quickly blocked Finland and Sweden's applications for accelerated membership in NATO. In June 2022, the access of Deutsche Welle and Voice of America was completely blocked in Turkey. On 30 June 2022, Turkey announced that it would not approve NATO membership if members of the Gülen movement and PKK are not extradited from Finland and Sweden. 2023 On 29 January 2023, Turkey announced that it requested the extradition of 130 people suspected of being members of the Gülen movement and PKK in order for Finland and Sweden to approve them for NATO membership. On 13 September 2023, the European Parliament unanimously accepted the call not to restart full membership negotiations between the EU and Turkey. 2024 On 2 August 2024, access to the social media platform Instagram was completely blocked in Turkey. On 9 October 2024, access to the social media platform Discord in Turkey was completely blocked. On 4 November 2024, the Turkish Ministry of Interior appointed trustees to the Mardin metropolitan, Batman and Şanlıurfa's Halfeti municipalities. ==Human rights==

Human rights in Turkey are governed by international law treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that Turkey signed in 2000, that take precedence over Turkish legislation according to Article 90 of the 1982 Constitution. After protesters chanted for reintroduction of the death penalty, abolished by Turkey in 2004, Erdoğan stated that this was a possibility that would be discussed in parliament, and that in a democracy, the will of the people must be respected. On 21 July, the Turkish government announced that it would suspend the European Convention on Human Rights during a temporary state of emergency. On 24 July 2016, Amnesty International called for the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture to make an emergency visit to Turkey to see the conditions in which the detainees were held. The usage of social medias monitoring is suspected. Anonymous-and-paid denunciations by secret witnesses are officially declared as the main source for identifying suspects. Most of the over 140 thousands people affected by the purges were affected following denunciations by coworkers and other citizens. The system have been legalized via a 31 August 2015's decree by the Ministry of interior. Fetometer Reports of a scoring system for Turkey citizens and foreigners to assess their relationships to the Gulen networks and crack down on them emerged. The system, already in use on Turkey civil public servants and some military branch, allows Turkey governments to assess the relationship of citizens to Gulenist networks and likelihood for them to be part of it. Detainees' conditions being launched outside Edirne prison where he is incarcerated, 25 May 2018 According to Amnesty International, during the July 2016 purges, detainees were denied food for up to three days and water for up to two days, were denied medical treatment, were reportedly raped with police truncheons or fingers, and were subjected to other forms of torture. Inmates with two years or less to serve are eligible, while inmates who have served half of their sentence can ask for parole. The decree applies to crimes committed before 1 July 2016, excluding convictions for murder, domestic violence, sexual abuse, terrorism or crimes against the state. 34 lawyers associations in Turkey were shut down, and lawyers were forced to testify against their own clients. Serdar Kuni, a doctor from Cizre, who assisted the respected Human Rights Foundation in documenting violations in the town, and arrested on poorly defined charges of "being a member of a terrorist organization" for treating injured locals. On 6 June 2017, Taner Kılıç, the Chair of Amnesty International Turkey, and another 22 lawyers were detained in İzmir by the Turkish police on the suspicion of having links with the Fethullah Gülen movement and later charged with "membership of a terrorist organisation". The detention and prosecution was condemned by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch who asked for his immediate release. Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, stated that "detaining Kılıç on suspicion of terrorist offenses looks like a tactic aimed at discrediting his legitimate human rights work." Nightwatchmen system The bekçi or Nightwatchmen auxiliary police force has been used in the 1990s to monitor the South Eastern regions against PKK activities. Bekçi forces have traditionally served as neighborhood watchmen in Turkey. Bekçi guards can be equipped with whistles, batons, and carry guns (Jan. 2020). They have the authority to check citizens' identity, body search them, and use of lethal force is under legislative discussion. == International ==

The Turkish government have been looking for opponents in foreign countries as well. • Somalia closed the Gülen affiliated schools. • Azerbaijan closed 13 education centres, 11 high schools, and also Qafqaz University associated with Gülen movement. • Pakistan: Turkey requested closure of Gülen movement schools. • Sudan closed Gülen movement schools by Turkish request. Foreign operations and abductions Turkey has led a hunt of political opponents abroad. Private planes are used to illegally abduct gulenists on foreign territories, without agreements with local jurisdictions. == Reactions ==

The purges were criticized by Western governments and human rights groups. Human Rights Watch warned the Turkish government against "[using] the coup attempt to justify a witch-hunt against those it regards as opponents". Conversely, the purges were praised by Judicial Commission of Indonesia chairman Aidul Fitriciada Azhari. Azhari pointed to the purges as a positive example of external oversight of a judicial system and the exercise of executive power by a judicial commission, referring to the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors. Accession of Turkey to the European Union Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner dealing with Turkey's bid to become a member state of the European Union (EU), said that it appeared Turkey's government had prepared arrest lists of political opponents before the coup attempt and had been waiting for the right time to act. Horst Seehofer, the minister-president of Bavaria, urged the EU to suspend Turkey's accession negotiations: "If one sees how Turkey is dismantling the rule of law... then these (EU membership) negotiations must be stopped immediately. No democratic constitutional state acts like this." On 24 November 2016 the European Parliament voted 497 to 37 in favour of a non binding freeze on membership talks with Turkey in response to "disproportionate repressive measures taken in Turkey since the failed military coup attempt." University associations The Czech University Council compared negatively the purges of educational institutions in Turkey to events which took place under the Communist regime in former Czechoslovakia. The European University Association (EUA) joined by the European University Foundations (EUF) "strongly and unconditionally" condemned the forced resignation of hundreds of deans from higher education institutions in Turkey in the wake of the failed coup attempt in the country, and called on all European governments, universities and scholars to speak out against these developments and to support democracy in Turkey, including institutional autonomy and academic freedom for scholars and students. Europe campaign in Frankfurt, 21 May 2017 against Turkey's censorship in Kraków, Poland Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said Turkish authorities' reaction to the failed coup needed to be "proportionate," and that he was alarmed by the arrests of judges and calls for reinstatement of the death penalty against coup participants. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault voiced concern, warning against a "political system which turns away from democracy" in response to the purges. United States U.S. President Barack Obama said he was concerned by pictures showing the rough treatment of some of the arrested coup plotters, some of whom appeared stripped to their underwear and handcuffed behind their backs. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Turkish authorities to halt the crackdown on its citizens, expressing concern that the aim of the crackdown was to "suppress dissent." In response, Erdoğan said Votel was being on the side of coup plotters. On 29 July, Votel said in a statement: "Any reporting that I had anything to do with the recent unsuccessful coup attempt in Turkey is unfortunate and completely inaccurate. ... We appreciate Turkey's continuing cooperation and look forward to our future partnership in the counter-ISIL fight." On 1 August 2018, President Donald Trump's administration sanctioned two top Turkish government officials, Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, over the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson. The indictment stated that American pastor had ties with Gülen's network. United Nations In July 2016, the U.S., with the support of Britain, drafted language for the United Nations Security Council that would have expressed grave concern over the situation, called upon on all parties to "respect the democratically elected government of Turkey" and the rule of law, and urged the parties to show restraint and avoid violence. However, Egypt blocked the proposed statement. Egyptian diplomats said that the council is "in no position to qualify, or label [the Turkish] government—or any other government for that matter—as democratically elected or not". Objection by the United States and the UK—permanent members of the Security Council—led to Egypt proposing a new statement calling for all sides to "respect the democratic and constitutional principles and the rule of law", which was rejected, preventing the condemnation of the coup attempt by the Security Council. Later that month, a group of experts in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a joint statement saying that the purges may violate international law, specifically Turkey's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The statement said: "While we understand the sense of crisis in Turkey, we are concerned that the government's steps to limit a broad range of human rights guarantees go beyond what can be justified in light of the current situation. Turkey is going through a critical period. Derogation measures must not be used in a way that will push the country deeper into crisis." == Analysis ==

Historical light Can Dündar, Editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet, described the purges as part of a historical pattern of political power in Turkey shifting back and forth between the secular military versus religious institutions, with democrats in the middle having little power to prevent the repeated oscillations, but worse than previous cycles. He described the 2016 purges as "the biggest witch-hunt in Turkey's history". According to the New York Times, "Searching for historical parallels, analysts have made comparisons with Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist witch hunt in 1950s America, the Stalinist purges of the 1930s and the Cultural Revolution in China in the 1960s and '70s." Political sciences Academics are now discussing "Turkey's democracy collapse" and its "authoritarian turn". It has been argued that solid political position encourage leaders to crack down and double down on oppositions parties while less secure governing groups are more inclined into deescalation and appeasement. AKP's political alliances with both wealthy business world via privileged and urban poor via redistribution of public resources, providing non-competitive elections, reduced elected officials political tolerance for oppositions and reduced the costs of cracking down on them. This AKP-hegemonic political landscape, associated calculations and observable room for repressive actions lead to increase authoritarianism from Turkish government through "securitization of dissent, mounting repression, and systematic violation of civil liberties". Turkey is described as a case of "competitive authoritarianism", a regime in which democratic elections occurs under the guidance of an authoritarian government and where the main party guaranteed to win. ==See also==