More than 2,800 judges, prosecutors dismissed in Turkey

By Aylin Sirikli and Baris Kilic

ANKARA

More than 2,800 judges and prosecutors were dismissed from their posts Wednesday in wake of the July 15 coup attempt, Turkey’s top judicial board announced.

The general assembly of Turkish Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) met in Ankara Wednesday to decide the fates of 2,847 suspended judges and prosecutors, the board said in a post on its official website.

The assembly decided to dismiss all of them under a statutory decree issued last month during Turkey's current three-month state of emergency.

The dismissed personnel were accused of being linked to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which the Turkish government blames for the deadly July 15 coup attempt, according to the assembly’s decision.

The board’s Deputy Chairman Mehmet Yilmaz told reporters on Wednesday the list of the removed judges and prosecutors included only those who had connections to the terror organization.

Yilmaz said they worked hard to exclude those not linked to the group. "For this, we scrutinized carefully each document and information," he said.

At least 240 people were martyred in the coup attempt, which the government has said was organized by the followers of Fetullah Gulen, the head of FETO.

Gulen is also accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish government through the infiltration of state institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.