Turkey dismisses over 7,000 Officers on eve of failed coup anniversary

Ankara, July 15 (IANS) : Turkey dismissed more than 7,000 people from public service on Friday over suspected links to the followers of Gulen Movement of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, local daily Hurriyet reported.

According to the decree published in the Official Gazette, a total of 7,563 people, most of them police officers, civil servants and academics, were sacked from the public service.

Under the latest decree, 2,303 policemen, including some from senior ranks, were discharged along with 302 academics from universities across the country.

Moreover, 342 retired officers and soldiers were stripped of their ranks and grades.

Fethullah Gulen, the US-based preacher, is blamed by Ankara for orchestrating a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. Nearly 250 people were killed and over 2,000 people were injured in the coup attempt.

The Turkish government declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen's supporters in the aftermath of the coup attempt.

Turkey has arrested over 50,000 suspected supporters of Gulen and dismissed more than 100,000 public servants from the government since the coup.