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Turkey dismisses over 10,000 civil servants

Xinhua, October 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

A total of 10,131 civil servants were dismissed and 15 media outlets were closed according to a new legislative decree in Turkey, reported the state-run Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

According to the decree published in the official gazette on Saturday, members of "terrorist organizations or groups involved in activities against the country's national security or those in contact with terrorist organizations or groups" were dismissed.

Some 32 parliamentary officials, 183 members of the Court of Cassation, 249 members of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, 2,534 members of the Justice Ministry, 102 members of the Foreign Ministry, 2,219 members of the Education Ministry, 2,774 members of the Health Ministry and 101 members of the Turkish Armed Forces were removed from their posts.

In addition, 1,267 academics were also dismissed as per the new decree, including several from prestigious universities.

At least 1,082 police officers, including former officers and retired ones, were dismissed and stripped of their ranks in line with the decree due to suspected links to Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara blames for orchestrating the failed July coup.

Fifteen media firms, including the Dicle News Agency and a number of newspapers and magazines were closed as per the decree over their alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

The decree also abolished elections for choosing a university rector as President Tayyip Erdogan will directly appoint rectors from candidates nominated by the Upper Educational Board.

A state of emergency imposed right after the July failed coup attempt has been extended for another three months until January 2017. Endit