Erdogan reassures nation about state of emergency

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday reassured the nation that a state of emergency after a recent coup attempt will not limit rights and freedoms.

"The state of emergency law will not prevent you from going out; on the contrary it will allow you to gather at the squares," Erdogan told crowds via telephone during a night-time "democracy watch" in Sakarya province.

He said the process of normalization in Turkey would be expedited with the three-month state of emergency declared this week.

Erdogan added more than 11,000 individuals had been detained in an ongoing nationwide probe into the perpetrators of the coup attempt.

The deadly coup attempt began late July 15 when rogue elements of the Turkish military tried to overthrow the country's democratically elected government, killing at least 246 people and injuring more than 2,100 others.

On Thursday, the state of emergency was declared in Turkey.

Meanwhile, Sinop Gov. Yasemin Ozata Cetinkaya, deputy governors of Kayseri province Gokhan Azcan and Mustafa Ari and district governor of Mentese, in Mugla province Zeki Arslan were taken into custody.

Thousands of judges and prosecutors as well as military personnel were taken into custody as part of the probe, who are suspected to have links to the perpetrators of the coup.

While the nation continues to stand on democracy watch against the failed coup, Turkish celebrities also showed their solidarity by participating in the rallies.

During the deadly overthrow attempt last Friday, the Grand National Assembly building was ripped apart by bombs and gunfire.

The government said the attempted coup was organized by followers of U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen, who is accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through infiltrating into Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming a ‘parallel state’.