BREAKING NEWS: Turkish air force chief Akin Ozturk confesses to plotting Friday’s coup.
The coup led to the deaths of 200 Turks, also ended with nearly 8,000 police officers being forced to turn in their weapons, and resulted in the arrests of 70 generals and admirals.
Foreign officials from around the world have spoken out about the importance of dealing with the attempted Turkish coup justly and appropriately but stressed that the reaction must not overreach.
Turkish President Erdogan pledged to purge out the “virus” of individuals within the state’s infrastructure that led to the plot.
United States Secretary of State John Kerry unequivocally supported the democratic rule in Turkey, showing a willingness to help serve justice, but was careful to frame his statements, “We also caution against a reach that goes well beyond that.”
Yesterday, President Erdogan made comments suggesting that the country could consider reintroducing the death penalty, a statement that raised concerns throughout Europe.
Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign affairs chief was quick to point out that “No country can become an EU member if it introduces the death penalty.”
Turkey has been in prolonged negotiations to join the EU as a full member state since 2005 and the process has been a brutally slow one.
A spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel was adamant that any attempt to institute a death penalty would mark the end of Turkey’s EU application.
The country’s last execution was in 1984, and all capital punishment was outlawed in 2004, a move to bolster the country’s application to the EU.
Prior to Ozturk’s admission, the Turkish government had accused Fethullah Gullen of devising the plot. If Gullen did indeed play a role, the United States will be put in a tough spot. The cleric currently resides in America, as part of a self-imposed exile. While he has vehemently denied any type of involvement, Secretary Kerry did say that the US would help return him to his homeland, provided the Turkish government could provide evidence of Gullen’s role in the coup.
While the coup certainly caught most of the world completely off guard, the Turkish government had already been preparing a list of people to arrest, according to Johannes Hahn, the commissioner in charge of Turkey’s accession to the EU.
