ANKARA (Sputnik) — Turkish government filed a request to the parliament to extend the state of emergency in the country, which was first introduced after the failed coup attempt in July 2016, local media reported Monday, citing a parliamentary source.
According to the NTV broadcaster, the parliament may take the decision regarding this issue later in the day.
The July 2016 coup attempt left over 240 people dead and some 2,000 injured in the wake of the coup. Ankara declared a national state of emergency, with a wave of arrests taking place across the country. The detentions mainly targeted officials, legal and educational workers over their alleged ties to the movement of state-opposed Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who has rejected the accusations and condemned the coup attempt Ankara's actions were repeatedly criticized by the European Union as violating human rights under the cover of a national state of emergency.
