Purges in Turkey following the 2016 Turkish coup attempt

In 2016, things changed in Turkey.

A group tried to take power. The plan did not work. After that, the leaders made new rules. They removed many people from their jobs. This included soldiers and teachers.

They also removed people from towns. Many people lost their work. This made life very hard for them. Some people even lost their homes.

It was a very big change for the land.

In July 2016, a group tried to take power in Turkey. This was called a coup attempt. The attempt failed. After it failed, the government started a series of purges. A purge is when many people are removed from their jobs.

At first, the government arrested soldiers linked to the coup. Soon, they removed many others. This included judges, teachers, and police officers. By early 2025, about 300,000 people had been removed from public jobs. This was about 10% of all government workers. Many of these people lost their way to earn money.

The government also targeted groups they did not like. They blamed a group called the Gülen movement for the coup. Even owning books by Gülen could lead to an arrest. The government also took control of many towns. They removed elected mayors from the HDP party.

In the news, the government shut down many TV channels and papers. They even blocked Wikipedia for a time. Some leaders said this was to stop people from speaking out. In 2025, an official said many people were removed based on computer reports. These reports targeted people who disagreed with the leaders.

In July 2016, a major event changed Turkey. A group tried to take control of the government in a failed coup attempt. After the attempt failed, the Turkish government began a series of purges. A purge is a way to remove many people from their jobs or positions.

The government used a state of emergency to make these changes happen. This allowed them to act quickly across the whole country. These actions affected many different parts of life in Turkey.

The purges started with the military. The government arrested soldiers who they believed were part of the coup.

Soon, the arrests grew to include many other people. This included civil servants, police officers, and even private citizens. The government also blamed a group called the Gülen movement for the coup. Because of this, people were even arrested for owning books written by Fethullah Gülen.

Many different jobs were impacted by these removals. On July 16, 2016, the government dismissed and detained 2,745 judges. This was about 36% of all the judges in Turkey at that time.

In the education sector, 15,200 officials were suspended from the Ministry of National Education. Over 11,000 Kurdish teachers were also dismissed starting in September 2016. By February 2025, the total number of people removed reached about 300,000. This was about 10% of all the people who work for the Turkish government.

The government also took control of other areas of society. They shut down many television channels and newspapers that were critical of the government. From April 2017 to January 2020, the website Wikipedia was also blocked in Turkey. In local politics, the government removed many elected mayors. This especially affected the HDP party, which represents many Kurdish people.

The government even took over 46 municipalities that the HDP had won in the 2019 elections.

These events have caused much discussion around the world. Leaders from the United States and France expressed concern about these actions. They worried that the government was trying to stop people from disagreeing with them. In February 2025, a high-ranking official named Erhan Afyoncu admitted something important. He said many people were removed because of a software program called "Fetometre." This program used reports to target people who were critics of the government. This shows how technology can be used to change who holds power in a country.

Since 2016, the Turkish government has carried out extensive purges across the nation. A purge is a systematic removal of people from positions of power or employment. These actions were enabled by a state of emergency declared after a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. A coup is an illegal attempt to seize control of a government. Following the failed attempt, the government began removing individuals they believed were linked to the coup or to the Gülen movement. The Gülen movement is an opposition group that the Turkish government blamed for the uprising.

The mechanism of these purges involved various legal and administrative tools. The government used the state of emergency to bypass normal procedures. They expanded arrests from military personnel to include civil servants and private citizens. In some cases, possessing books written by Fethullah Gülen was used as evidence of a connection to the movement. In the business sector, the government seized assets from over one thousand companies. These assets were valued between $11 billion and $60 billion.

The purges affected many different sectors of Turkish society. The military was the first major target. By July 18, 2016, authorities had detained 103 generals and admirals. For example, General Bekir Ercan Van, the commander of Incirlik Air Base, was arrested for his alleged role in the coup.

The judiciary was also heavily impacted. On July 16, 2016, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors removed 2,745 judges from duty. This represented approximately 36% of all judges in Turkey at that time.

Political and local governance underwent significant changes through new laws. The government introduced amendments to the municipalities law. These changes allowed officials to remove elected mayors from their duties. This had a major impact on the HDP, a political party representing many Kurdish people. Between 2014 and 2020, over 90 municipalities were seized by the government. By March 2020, the government had seized 46 of the 65 municipalities won by the HDP in the 2019 elections.

Specific numbers show the massive scale of these removals over time. In the first week after the coup, tens of thousands of soldiers and public servants were purged. By November 2016, over 110,000 officials had been dismissed or detained. This number grew to 160,000 by April 2017. By February 2025, the total reached approximately 300,000 people. This accounts for about 10% of Turkey's 2 million public employees. Many of these individuals are now prevented from working in government again.

Media and information control were also part of the broader crackdown. The government shut down various television channels and newspapers. These outlets were seen as critical of the administration. From April 2017 to January 2020, the government also blocked access to Wikipedia. In February 2025, a high-ranking official named Erhan Afyoncu provided a new detail. He stated that many dismissals were based on a software program called "Fetometre." This program targeted individuals perceived as critics of the government through intelligence reports.

These events have connected to wider discussions about democracy and human rights. International leaders, including officials from the United States and France, expressed concern. They suggested the crackdown was meant to suppress political dissent. The purges also affected Kurdish groups, leading to the dismissal of over 11,000 Kurdish teachers. These actions demonstrate how a state of emergency can be used to reshape a nation's political and social landscape.