Turkey Conducts New Mass Judicial Purge
Turkey has reassigned almost 100 prosecutors and judges in a new purge as parliament began a debate on controversial government legislation to rein in the judiciary, local media reported Wednesday.
The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) removed 96 judges and prosecutors from their posts, including five chief prosecutors and senior figures who oversaw the trials of hundreds of top military officers convicted of plotting against the government.
The move came just a week after the HSYK removed 20 prosecutors including the chief prosecutor of Istanbul and some of those involved in the corruption probe targeting allies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The parliament launched a debate late Tuesday on a bill aimed at increasing government control of the HSYK, the country's top independent judicial body, despite widespread concerns.
The sackings came as Erdogan was on his first visit to Brussels in five years in the shadow of EU concerns over the independence of state institutions and the risks to democracy.
Source: Agence France Presse
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