Turkish authorities fire over 2,800 judges, prosecutors as anti-Gülen moves continue

ANKARA

The authorities fired more than 2,800 judges and prosecutors on Aug. 24 over links to the movement of Fethullah Gülen, the U.S.-based Islamic scholar who is seen as the main suspect behind the July 15 coup attempt.

Mehmet Yılmaz, a deputy chair of Turkey’s Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), said a total of 2,847 judges and prosecutors had been dismissed, in line with a government decree within the terms of the ongoing state of emergency imposed after the failed coup attempt.

The sacked judges included Rüstem Eryılmaz, the former head of the case into the killing of Armenian-origin journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 and Ömer Diken, the head of the former “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) coup plot case.

Mehmet Ali Pekgüzel, the prosecutor in the Ergenekon coup plot case, was also dismissed.

Turkey has sacked or suspended around 80,000 people from the civil service, judiciary, police forces and courts following the attempted coup.

The government says Gülen’s followers spent years infiltrating institutions with the goal of overthrowing the state.