Two years after the coup attempt: the state of emergency in Turkey has come to an end

At night, the state of emergency in Turkey expired two years after the coup attempt failed. Nevertheless, the restrictive policies of President Erdogan can not be foreseen.

After about two years, the state of emergency was lifted in Turkey. During the night, the state of emergency imposed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a few days after the failure of the July 2016 military coup came to an end. Since then, Turkey has reportedly arrested tens of thousands of people and released hundreds of thousands

The Closed Media

The state of emergency has allowed the Turkish government to restrict fundamental rights such as freedom of expression or freedom of the press. According to the news agency, about 200 media companies were closed during this period, including the Cihan news agency. The Zaman newspaper, for example, was placed under state control and its critical orientation was cut off.

The decrees imposed under urgent conditions mainly met with alleged supporters of preacher Fethullah Gülen. The former ally of today's Turkish president had turned against Erdogan's policy. Gülen lives in exile in the United States. Erdogan blames him for the attempted coup d'etat.

Waves of Layoffs on a National Scale

The so-called purges strike opposition figures, officials, teachers, judges or lawyers. At least 130,000 civil servants would have lost their jobs, the latest wave of layoffs having been ordered two weeks ago. Once again, about 18,000 state employees were fired at the order of the government.

New laws of equal severity?

The opposition fears that Erdogan will keep his policy tough even after the end of the state of emergency. The head of state, reelected about a month ago, laid the foundation for a constitutional amendment that sets the presidential system in Turkey. This Erdogan is not only the state but also the head of the government.

In addition, the government has already announced new laws, with which it wants to curb the lingering threat of terror. These laws provide, among other things, that the free kick of the badembly may continue to be restricted. Detainees arrested by the police should be detained for up to 12 days. According to the project, the laws will initially be valid for three years.