French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is warning Turkey’s Erdogan on Sunday against using his country’s failed coup as a “blank check” to silence his opponents.
“We want the rule of law to work properly in Turkey,” Ayrault tells France 3 television, warning Turkish authorities against “purges.”
Some 6,000 people have been arrested in the wake of the failed putsch, including hundreds of top military officers, as Erdogan has moved to crack down on dissenters and consolidate power.
Turkish anti riot police officers escort Turkish soldiers who allegedly took part in a military coup as they are leaving the courthouse at Bakirkoy district in Istanbul on July 16, 2016. (AFP/OZAN KOSE)
Brigadier air force general Bekir Ercan Van was detained along with over a dozen lower-ranking officers on Saturday at the Incirlik air force base in Turkey‘s southern Adana province, newspapers including the Hurriyet daily said.
The base has become a key hub for US forces after Turkey last year agreed to allow the United States to use Incirlik to carry out lethal raids against jihadists in Syria.
The Anadolu agency says prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for a total of 2,745 judges and prosecutors across Turkey.
— with AFP
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