Turkey bans religious funerals for coup supporters

By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA

Turkey has banned religious funerals for the supporters of the attempted military coup.

The Religious Affairs Directorate said Tuesday that imams would not lead prayers for “pro-coup soldiers who targeted our nation”.

The directorate, which employs all of Turkey’s 75,000 imams, said the ban would not apply to those who took part under duress or unwittingly played a role.

The number of coup supporters killed during Friday’s attempt to seize power remains uncertain, although the figure is believed to be more than 20.

At least 240 people, including 145 civilians, were killed in the violence and nearly 1,500 wounded.