07 January 2017•Update: 08 January 2017
ISTANBUL
The Turkish Official Gazette has published late Friday statutory legislation apparently aimed to help law enforcement in its fight against terrorism under an ongoing state of emergency after a coup attempt last summer.
According to the publication, 1,699 personnel have been dismissed in the Ministry of Justice, including eight members of the Council of State and one from the Supreme Electoral Council.
A total of 2,687 police officers including 53 high-ranked commissioners and 919 chief officers have been removed from the Security General Directorate.
The new law says citizens abroad who do not respond to judicial summons issued by courts or prosecutors within 90 days might face losing their citizenship.
It says police have been authorized to access identity information of internet subscribers for the purposes of investigating crimes committed online.
The measures appear to be targeting members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which perpetrated a failed coup attempt on July 15.
As a preventative measure against mass attacks, the decree stipulates that private security personnel would be subject to background checks, and individuals found to be affiliated with any groups threatening national security will not be able to work in private security companies.
They will also not be allowed to take weapons assigned to them outside their place of duty.
Turkey declared a state of emergency after the deadly July 15 coup attempt, which martyred 248 people and injured nearly 2,200 others.
