Turkey purges hundreds of civil servants in latest decrees

More than 150,000 officials have been sacked, suspended or jailed since the failed putsch of 2016

The purge goes on: the day after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed a rally in Sanliurfa, Turkey, on Friday, January  6, 2017, more than 8,000 civil servants and academics were dismissed. On August 25, 2017, hundreds more civil servants were purged. Yasin Bulbul/Presidential Press Service/ AP
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Turkey dismissed hundreds of civil servants and boosted President Tayyip Erdogan's powers over the national intelligence agency MIT in two decrees published on Friday under emergency rule imposed after an attempted coup last year.

Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 150,000 officials in purges since the failed putsch, while about 50,000 people, including soldiers, police and civil servants, are in jail awaiting rial.

Under the latest decrees, published in the Official Gazette, more than 900 civil servants from various ministries, public institutions and the military were dismissed.

According to one of the decrees, the president's permission will be required for the head of the national intelligence agency MIT to be investigated or to act as a witness. The legal changes will also open the way for investigations into politicians for alleged crimes committed before or after they are elected.