The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Friday took a government decree numbered 668, issued during a state of emergency declared in the wake of a failed military coup attempt in July, to the country’s Constitutional Court for cancellation.
In line with government decree No. 668, Turkey’s gendarmerie and coast guard were subordinated to the Interior Ministry, while 1,684 military officers were expelled from their posts in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) due to alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement.
Turkish authorities claim Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who lives in Pennsylvania and whose views inspired the Gülen movement, was the mastermind of the violent coup attempt that killed over 240 people and injured a thousand others on July 15, while Gülen strongly denies any involvement.
The Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have designated the faith-based Gülen movement, operating charities, schools and businesses around the world, as a terrorist organization and have launched a widespread crackdown on suspected members since the failed coup.
CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said in an earlier statement that the government decrees, which have the force of law, contravene the Constitution, and therefore need to be cancelled, while government officials claim government decrees cannot be challenged at the Constitutional Court.
CHP deputy group chairman Levent Gök said on Friday that his party would also take the other government decrees to the top court for cancellation.
More than 100,000 people have been purged from state jobs over alleged links to the Gülen movement through controversial post-coup decrees.