Thousands of state employees fired in Turkey

Educators, members of police and military among 18,632 sacked for alleged links to terrorism

Turkish President Erdogan issued a decree dismissing the employees on Sunday
Turkish President Erdogan issued a decree dismissing the employees on Sunday

Thousands of state employees were dismissed in Turkey under an emergency decree for allegedly threatening national security.

The decree ordered the dismissal of 18,632 people, including 9,000 police officers, 6,000 members of the military, as well as hundreds of educators.

All of their passports have been cancelled, according to the decree published on the Official Gazette on Sunday.

Turkey’s state of emergency, which was declared after a coup attempt in July 2016, is set to expire on July 18 this year.

The Turkish government blames US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen for the coup.

Hundreds of thousands of public servants have been sacked or jailed in the past two years as a result of a crackdown which the government said is necessary to root out supporters of Gulen.

Sunday’s decree also banned 12 civil-society groups, three newspapers and a television broadcaster.