Turkey declares ‘state of emergency’

Turkey blocks WikiLeaks after President party emails go online Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks has released nearly 300,000 emails linked to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP party, with Turkey immediately blocking access. WikiLeaks said the emails came from the party’s web domain akparti.org.tr and mainly related to world affairs and not “the most sensitive internal matters”.

It said the emails, which date between 2010 and July 6 this year, were obtained before the attempted coup of July 16. “WikiLeaks has moved forward its publication schedule in response to the government’s post-coup purges,” the transparency website said in a statement. The source of the emails “is not connected, in any way, to the elements behind the attempted coup, or to a rival political party or state”, it said.

A Turkish official said the WikiLeaks website was being blocked “due to violation of privacy and publication of illegally obtained data”. The coup represented the most serious threat to Erdogan’s 13-year domination of Turkey and the president has said he came within 15 minutes of being killed or kidnapped by the plotters before escaping.
Tens of thousands of people including soldiers, police officers, judges and teachers have since been either detained or sacked in a widening purge.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that the country will be placed under a “state of emergency” for three months, in response to the failed coup.
In a televised address Erdogan said the decision was made following a meeting with members of the national security council.

The state of emergency was needed “in order to remove swiftly all the elements of the terrorist organisation involved in the coup attempt,” he said at the presidential palace in Ankara. “I would like to underline that the declaration of the state of emergency has the sole purpose of taking the necessary measures, in the face of the terrorist threat that our country is facing,” he said, vowing that the “virus in the military will be cleansed”. Turkey has accused the group of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen of being behind the coup. Gulen has strongly denied links to the coup.

According to the Turkish constitution, a state of emergency is allowed up to six months.
Article 120 of the constitution allows a state of emergency to be imposed “at a time of serious deterioration of public order because of acts of violence”.

Turkey had in 2002 lifted its last state of emergency, which had been imposed in provinces in the southeast for the fight against Kurdish armed groups in 1987.
Under a state of emergency in Turkey, the president can largely rule by decree.
Curfews could be enforced, and gatherings and protests could be banned without official consent, under the declaration.

Media could also be restricted, while security personnel could conduct searches of persons, vehicles or properties and confiscate potential evidence.
As per reports, the interior ministry said that the order “will not affect civilians”.
In his televised address, Erdogan also tried to reassure the public that military powers will not be expanded, adding that Turkey would emerge as a “stronger nation” following the coup attempt.