Turkey’s police training centers have announced that 13,000 policemen will be hired following the purge of thousands of police officers and closure of the country’s police academies in the wake of a botched coup attempt on July 15, 2016, the artigercek news website reported on Wednesday.
An announcement issued on the website of the Police Academy Directorate said 13,000 policemen will be hired and receive training at the centers.
After the military coup attempt on July 15 of last year, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the Gülen movement of masterminding the putsch and initiated a widespread purge to cleanse sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
Turkey’s Justice Ministry announced on July 13 that 50,510 people have been arrested and 169,013 have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.
Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15 through government decrees issued as part of the state of emergency.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has occupied all state institutions by turning last year’s July 15 coup attempt into an opportunity.
