Germany: Turkey coup crackdown flouts rule of law
Germany has censured Turkey’s intensifying crackdown in the wake of the recent abortive coup, saying it flouts the rule of law.
“Nearly every day we are seeing new measures that flout the rule of law and that disregard the principle of proportionality,” German government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Wednesday.
Seibert added that the harsh measures against the suspected coup plotters in Turkey were “deeply worrying.”
Turkey began to go after those believed to have played a role in the failed coup after the one-day attempt was declared over on July 16. Official estimates show that over 50,000 people, including senior government and judiciary officials and members of the army, have been sacked or dismissed from their jobs.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the former friend and current rival, Fethullah Gulen, a cleric based in the United States, for the coup attempt. Many of those affected by the crackdown are introduced in the pro-state media as Gulen sympathizers.
Gulen has denied any role in the coup attempt, warning the Turks instead that the move could have been orchestrated by the government to purge its opponents.
Turkish government suspends four university rectors
A report on the private broadcaster NTV on Wednesday said Turkey’s High Education Board has suspended four university rectors. The TV channel did not provide any further details. Government officials have also imposed a travel ban on academics, saying it is necessary to prevent supporters of the abortive coup from fleeing Turkey. Nearly 1,580 deans at both state and private universities have also been suspended as part of the coup crackdown.
In his Wednesday statement, the German government spokesman also reacted to plans by Ankara to return to capital punishment as a way of prosecuting the coup plotters, saying if that happens, it “would mean the end of EU membership talks” for Turkey.
Turkey in 2014 accepted to carry out a series of judicial reforms, including abandoning the death penalty, to have talks aimed at joining the European Union accelerated. However, reports show that the Turkish parliament is going to discuss and reinstate the measure.
Germany on July 18 issued a sharp warning about “revolting scenes of caprice and revenge” in Turkey after the failed coup. It also warned Turkey not to pursue a return to death penalty.
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