Bloody and brutal revenge of a man they couldn't topple: ANDREW MALONE reports from Istanbul on Erdogan's brutal wave of repression against his enemies in Turkey
Turkey’s dictatorial president arrested more than 6,000 soldiers, judges and opposition figures in barbaric scenes
There were gruesome accounts and images of Islamic mobs beating to death soldiers said to be linked to the plot
Turkish army conscripts attacked by lynch mobs after the president called on his supporters to take to the streets
DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 22:49 GMT, 17 July 2016 | UPDATED: 22:50 GMT, 17 July 2016
After the abortive coup, the terror. Turkey’s dictatorial president last night launched a brutal wave of repression against his enemies, arresting more than 6,000 soldiers, judges and opposition figures amid barbaric scenes of revenge.
As the sun rose over Istanbul yesterday morning, a huge purge was under way by Recep Erdogan’s secret police.
There were gruesome accounts and images of Islamic mobs beating to death soldiers said to be linked to the plot.
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Turkey in turmoil: Turkey’s dictatorial president last night launched a brutal wave of repression against his enemies, arresting more than 6,000 soldiers, judges and opposition figures amid barbaric scenes of revenge
On the famous bridge over the River Bosphorus, which links Asia and Europe, terrified young Turkish army conscripts were attacked by lynch mobs after the president called on his supporters to take to the streets to defy the coup leaders.
As F-16 fighter jets joined the coup attempt by strafing the parliament building and helicopter gunships attacked police headquarters, Erdogan – who was on holiday at a Turkish coastal resort – called a television news channel. Via a FaceTime video message on his iPhone, he urged the Turkish people to rise up and smash the uprising.
They did just that, using extreme violence and bloodshed
While some tanks were halted by Erdogan supporters laying down in front of them, other young colleagues in the military who were ordered to overthrow the democratically-elected government refused to fire on Turkish civilians.
And so the attempted military coup was crushed within 12 hours.
But it’s what happened afterwards that has horrified many.
Awful images were last night circulating on social media of hardline Islamists killing soldiers by beating them to death with metal bars, wooden fence-posts and knives.
In one scene filmed by witnesses, a soldier is beheaded on the bridge over the Bosphorus with a gleaming knife.
The disfigured body is shown left lying in pools of blood.
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Rage: Protesters beat cowering soldiers. In other footage, gangs are seen lashing soldiers, despite them laying down their weapons and surrendering
In other footage, gangs are seen lashing soldiers, despite them laying down their weapons and surrendering. Ignoring their pleas for mercy, Erdogan supporters forced one group of captured soldiers to the ground – and jumped on their heads.
A witness told me that police officers tried to intervene to protect some of the soldiers, most of whom were poorly paid conscripts carrying out compulsory military service (which, incidentally, can be waived on payment of a £6,000 fee to Erdogan’s regime).
As bloodstains and debris were cleared from the streets yesterday and an eerie calm fell over the city, I was told how police tried to save soldiers from being killed by the mob who chanted: ‘We will kill them all!’
Another witness told me that soldiers claimed they had not been told they were participating in a coup attempt, but were simply told it was part of a training exercise.
‘Some people tried to protect the soldiers,’ I was told. ‘Women were calling from windows to the mobs, begging Erdogan supporters not to kill. But they paid no attention.’
Those spared by mobs didn’t fare much better in custody.
Beaten and stripped naked, they now face the death penalty, which Erdogan has called to be reintroduced saying it has popular support, adding: ‘In a democracy, whatever people they want, they will get.’
The president has accused moderate Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in the US, of being behind the coup attempt, and has called for American authorities to extradite him to Turkey to face justice.
For his part, the cleric denies any involvement and suggests that Erdogan actually staged the coup as an excuse to jail opponents.
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Protesters clamber on a tank: While some tanks were halted by Erdogan supporters laying down in front of them, other young colleagues in the military who were ordered to overthrow the democratically-elected government refused to fire on Turkish civilians
Many of those linked to the military coup attempt will be held at the notorious Silivri Prison, where more than 10,000 inmates are already held, including hundreds of journalists, academics, lawyers and judges – many without charge – for daring to question Erdogan’s rule.
While the Turkish president has been at pains to argue that ‘people power’ saved his regime, the truth is far more complicated.
Military leaders have substantial backing from those worried about Erdogan’s growing abuse of power and what they claim is his complicity with Isilamic State terrorists.
‘I was celebrating when we heard explosions and were told the military was taking over,’ said a Turkish friend of mine.
‘President Erdogan wants to turn Turkey into Saudi Arabia, with sharia law and all pleasure outlawed. Now, we’re terrified he will crack down on liberals even harder.’
Despite the weekend calm, the country is now even more bitterly divided between hardcore Islamists and moderates who look to Western Europe as an example of the type of government they want. Erdogan is accused, too, of boosting his own wealth by striking oil deals with extremists.
With a fortune estimated at over £1billion secreted in eight Swiss bank accounts, he has become increasingly dictatorial – having once said sinisterly: ‘Democracy is like a train. We shall get out when we arrive at the station we want.’
After Friday night’s 12-hour failed coup attempt, let’s hope for the sake of this wonderful country – and for the stability of this part of the world – that President Erdogan’s brutal repression does not trigger an even greater crisis in the days and months to come.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3694800/ANDREW-MALONE-reports-Istanbul-Erdogan-s-brutal-wave-repression-against-enemies-Turkey.html#ixzz4Eikv7TcE
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