ISTANBUL -- Turkey's state-run news agency says 10,131 more civil servants have been dismissed for alleged ties to terrorism while 15 mostly pro-Kurdish media outlets also have been shut down.

The dismissals were announced in the latest governmental decree issued over the weekend.

Turkey declared a state of emergency following the July 15 coup attempt allowing the government to rule by decree. It has since suspended tens of thousands of people from civil service over suspected links to terrorist organizations.

The latest dismissals include 2,534 personnel from the Justice Ministry, 2,219 from the Education Ministry, 2,774 from the Health Ministry, 1,267 from higher education institutions and 101 from the armed forces.

The same decree also shut down 15 mostly pro-Kurdish media outlets on similar grounds. </s> ISTANBUL -- Turkey shut down 15 news outlets, dismissed more than 10,000 civil servants and tightened its anti-terrorism laws over the weekend in an expansion of its crackdown after the July 15 coup attempt.

The decrees, enacted Saturday, also instituted changes in due process and university administration.

Turkey declared a state of emergency soon after the coup attempt, allowing the government to rule by decree with limited parliamentary involvement. Such decrees have been used to suspend or dismiss more than 100,000 people from the public sector over suspected links to what the government calls terror organizations.

The latest dismissals include 2,534 personnel from the Justice Ministry, 2,219 from the Education Ministry, 2,774 from the Health Ministry, 1,267 from higher education institutions and 101 from the armed forces. Another 1,236 were dismissed across several different government departments and agencies.

The decree also reinstated 39 military members, including a general and an admiral, as well as 35 other civil servants who had been dismissed in earlier decrees.

The purges are intended to eradicate a network, linked to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, that Turkey accuses of orchestrating the attempted coup. Gulen denies any involvement.

Human-rights groups and Turkey's main opposition party have accused the government of using emergency powers to clamp down on other dissenting voices, including Kurdish and left-leaning individuals and media outlets.

The 15 news outlets closed in Saturday's decree were mostly pro-Kurd and located in the country's southeast, near Syria and Iraq. They include newspapers, magazines, radio and television channels as well as the Dicle News Agency. All were accused of links to terror.

Universal Culture, a 25-year-old monthly art, culture and literature magazine, condemned its closure in a statement: "There are many signatures under the closure decree. We are certain not a single one has read a single one of [Universal Culture's] 299 issues."

The statement ended by saying, "we will not be silent, you don't be silent either."

According to the latest figures by the Turkish Journalists' Association, the latest round of closures brings the total number of outlets shut down to 170. In addition, 105 journalists have been imprisoned. More than 700 press credentials have been revoked, and a third of the media is currently unemployed.

The latest decrees also allow Turkish government prosecutors to record conversations between people convicted of terrorism and their lawyers, seize the audio tapes and limit attorney-client communication.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said Turkish Bar Association President Metin Feyzioglu was critical of the decision to restrict terror suspects' access to lawyers.

The latest decrees also abolished elections for university presidents, who will now be directly chosen by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from among three candidates presented by Turkey's Council of Higher Education.

The Anadolu Agency reported that Lale Karabiyik, deputy chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party, condemned the decrees on Sunday.

"Everything is between one man's lips," Karabiyik said. "They are dragging us to a one-man regime as a fait accompli. This is nothing more than abusing the state of emergency."

The government earlier this month extended the 90-day state of emergency for another 90 days. Erdogan hinted earlier that it could be extended to more than a year.

Information for this article was contributed by Cinar Kiper of The Associated Press and Tugce Ozsoy of Bloomberg News. </s> ISTANBUL — Turkey expanded its sweeping post-coup crackdown over the weekend, issuing two new governmental decrees that dismissed more than 10,000 civil servants and shutting down 15 mostly pro-Kurdish media outlets.

The decrees were passed Saturday, also instituting changes in due process and university administration.

Turkey declared a state of emergency soon after the July 15 coup attempt allowing the government to rule by decree with limited parliamentary involvement. Such decrees have been used to suspend tens of thousands of people from the public sector over suspected links to what the government calls terror organizations.

The latest dismissals include 2,534 personnel from the Justice Ministry, 2,219 from the Education Ministry, 2,774 from the Health Ministry, 1,267 from higher education institutions and 101 from the armed forces. The remaining 1,236 dismissals were across several different government departments and agencies.

The decree also reinstated 39 military personnel, including a general and an admiral, as well as 35 other civil servants who had been dismissed in earlier decrees.

The purges are aimed to eradicate a network linked to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, which Ankara accuses of orchestrating the attempted coup. Gulen denies any involvement.

But Turkey's main opposition party and human rights groups have, however, accused the government of using emergency powers to clamp down on other dissenting voices- not just the Gulen movement- including Kurdish and left-leaning individuals and media outlets.

Saturday's decree also shuts down 15 mostly pro-Kurdish media outlets over alleged terror ties, including several newspapers, magazines, radio and television channels as well as the Dicle News Agency.

The 25-year-old monthly art, culture and literature magazine Evrensel Kultur condemned its closure in a statement: "There are many signatures under the closure decree. We are certain not a single one has read a single one of Evrensel Kultur's 299 issues" and ending with "we will not be silent, you don't be silent either."

According to the latest figures by the Turkish Journalists' Association, this latest round of closures brings the total number of outlets shut down to 170. In addition, 105 journalists have been imprisoned, over 700 press credentials revoked and a third of the media are currently unemployed.

The decrees also now allow judges to restrict suspects' access to lawyers as well as the recording of conversations between terrorism suspects and their lawyers.

The state-run Anadolu Agency says Turkish Bar Association President Metin Feyzioglu condemned the decision to restrict access to lawyers and record discussions with clients.

The decrees also abolish elections for university presidents, who will now be directly chosen by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan among three candidates presented by the Board of Higher Education.

Anadolu Agency reported that main opposition Republican People's Party deputy chair Lale Larabiyik condemned the decrees on Sunday.

"Everything is between one man's lips," Larabiyik said. "They are dragging us to a one-man regime as a fait accompli. This is nothing more than abusing the state of emergency," questioning whether this was an attempt by the ruling party to bring to life its ideology.

Though critics condemn the state of emergency and allies urge Turkey restraint in its post-coup crackdown, the government extended the 90-day state of emergency for another 90 days earlier this month with Erdogan having hinted earlier that it could be extended to over a year. </s> Turkish authorities have dismissed more than 10,000 civil servants over their suspected links with United States-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the failed coup in July.

Thousands of academics, teachers and health workers were among those removed through a new emergency rule decree published on the Official Gazette late on Saturday.

Turkey has formally arrested more than 37,000 people and has already sacked or suspended 100,000 civil servants, judges, prosecutors, police and others in an unprecedented crackdown the government says is necessary to root out all supporters of Mr. Gulen from the state apparatus and key positions. </s> ANKARA : Turkish authorities are investigating some 10,000 people on suspicion of using social media to support terrorism, the interior ministry said on Saturday, part of a wide crackdown that has alarmed rights groups and some Western allies.

Turkey, which faces security threats from Kurdish and leftist militants and Islamic State, has sacked or suspended more than 100,000 people following an attempted military coup in July. It says the measures are necessary to root out supporters of the putsch and other terrorists.

Rights groups and some European countries have said President Tayyip Erdogan is using the current state of emergency to quash dissent. Since the coup, more than 150 media outlets have been shut down and 140 journalists arrested.

The interior ministry said on Saturday the fight against terrorism was being carried out "with determination" in social media.

In the last six months, authorities have detained 3,710 people for questioning, the ministry said. Of those, 1,656 have been formally arrested and 84 are still being questioned.

The remaining 1,970 have been released, although 1,203 of those are still being monitored, it said.

Access to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook is commonly blocked, particularly after bombings or other deadly attacks, internet monitoring groups have said. Turkey denies that it blocks the internet, and has previously blamed outages on spikes in usage after major events.

Technical experts at watchdog groups say the blackouts on social media are intentional, aimed in part at stopping the spread of militant images and propaganda. </s> The inquiries are part of the "fight against terrorism, which continues with determination everywhere.

Turkey is investigating 10,000 people suspected of terror-related activity on the internet or posting comments on social media insulting government officials, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

The inquiries are part of the "fight against terrorism, which continues with determination everywhere, including on social networks", the ministry said in a statement.

After a coup attempt in July, Turkey declared a state of emergency and launched deep purges of perceived opponents, sparking concern among human rights groups which accuse Ankara of repression.

More than 1,600 people accused of "propaganda or apologising for terrorism" or "insulting state officials" have been arrested in the past six months, according to the ministry.

Turkish authorities are often accused of restricting access to social networks after serious incidents, such as attacks, to stop the circulation of information that could "undermine state security".

Access was severely disrupted after the assassination on Monday of Andrei Karlov, Russia’s ambassador to Turkey.

And Twitter and YouTube have slowed since the publication on Thursday of a video in which the Islamic State group purportedly burned alive two captured Turkish soldiers.

An internet monitoring body, Turkey Blocks, also reported difficulties accessing virtual private networks which are routinely used to circumvent restrictions on access to social networks or websites.

This post was syndicated from pulse.ng - Nigeria's entertainment & lifestyle platform online. Click here to read the full text on the original website.

Also, Like us on facebook </s> ANKARA: Turkey dismissed 4,464 public servants, more than half from the Education Ministry, in a decree published on Tuesday, extending a purge of state

officials following a failed coup in July.

Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 125,000 officials since the coup attempt, and formally arrested some 40,000 people from the military, police and other sectors.

Turkey dismisses more than 4,000 public servants in new decree was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on February 08, 2017 and was last updated on February 08, 2017. This news story is related to Latest/184762-Turkey-dismisses-more-than-4000-public-servants-in-new-decree/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "Turkey dismisses more than 4,000 public servants in new decree " is https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/184762-Turkey-dismisses-more-than-4000-public-servants-in-new-decree. </s> Turkey has dismissed more than 4,400 civil servants including teachers, police officers and academics over their suspected links with terrorist organisations, a decree showed late on Tuesday, in the latest purge since a failed coup last July. Ibrahim Kaboglu, a prominent constitution professor who has expressed opposition to planned constitutional changes giving President Tayyip Erdogan greater executive powers, was among those ousted under the decree published in the Official Gazette.

Court clerks, computer experts and librarians were also among 4,464 sacked, part of a crackdown since the July coup bid which Turkey says was carried out by U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. Gulen denies the allegation. The dismissals drew criticism on social media, with main opposition CHP lawmaker Sezgin Tanrikulu saying on Twitter that Turkey’s long-established universities were being destroyed.

Turkey has already removed or suspended more than 125,000 people and formally arrested 40,000 since the attempted coup during which rogue soldiers tried to overthrow the government and Erdogan, killing more than 240 people, most of them civilians. The government says the action is justified by the nature of the threat to the state.

The crackdown has covered a wide range of professions from civil servants and soldiers to medics. Dismissals are announced in the Official Gazette with no reasons given beyond “membership of, or links to, terrorist organisations or groups deemed to be acting against national security interests”.

Rights groups and some European countries have said Erdogan is using the current state of emergency to quash dissent. Ankara says the measures are necessary to root out supporters of the putsch and other terrorists. Among the 330 academics dismissed were those who signed a petition last year criticising military action in the restive southeast against Kurdish militants. Erdogan had said the academics would pay a price for their “treachery”.

Hundreds of civilians, members of the security forces and militants have been killed since the conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) reignited in July 2015 in the worst violence Turkey has seen for 20 years. The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. </s> Turkey is investigating 10,000 people on suspicion of using social media to support terrorism, its interior ministry has said.

They are accused of insulting government officials online, or what the ministry called "terror-related activity" on the internet.

The ministry said the fight against terrorism was being carried out "with determination" on social media.

The authorities have held 3,710 people for questioning in the last six months.

Of those, 1,656 have been formally arrested and 84 are still being questioned.

Access to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook is often blocked in Turkey, especially after bombings.

Internet monitoring groups believe the outages are calculated blackouts designed to block the spread of militant propaganda.

Turkey denies this, and has blamed past episodes on spikes in internet usage after major events.

Internet use was severely disrupted after Russia's ambassador to Turkey was shot dead on Monday.

Reports suggest Twitter and YouTube have also slowed down since Thursday, when a video emerged allegedly showing two Turkish soldiers being burned alive by the so-called Islamic State.

Activists and foreign powers have raised repeated concerns about repression in Turkey since the summer.

After a coup failed to unseat him in July, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency and began purging officials, soldiers, teachers, police and judges who were perceived as "anti-government".

Critics say the president is using the state of emergency to tighten his grip on power and stifle opponents.

Since the attempted coup, more than 150 media outlets have been shut down and 140 journalists arrested.

As of November, more than 125,000 state employees had been sacked or suspended.
Turkey dismisses another 10,000 civil servants and closes 15 more media outlets for alleged ties to terrorist organizations and cleric Fethullah Gülen.