Two relatives of a former speaker of parliament and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Bülent Arınç were dismissed from their positions by means of a recent government decree that sacked 51,000 others on coup charges.
The decree, issued under emergency rule late on Thursday, included the dismissal of Arınç’s nephew İbrahim Said Arınç, who served as deputy chairman of the state-run energy company, BOTAŞ, and of his son-in-law Ekrem Yeter, who was a faculty member at Ankara’s Yıldırım Beyazıt University.
The decree has led to the dismissal of nearly 51,000 people from civil service over their alleged ties to the Gülen movement, which the government accuses of masterminding a recent coup attempt.
Critics have blasted the AKP for its efforts to capitalize on the putsch in order to get rid of any opposition from within state institutions.
One of the founders of the AKP, Arınç came to public attention with his strong criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek and pro-government media outlets prior to the coup attempt. (Turkey Purge)