Turkey declares three-month state of emergency

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the nation is imposing a three-month state of emergency in the aftermath of last week’s bloody coup attempt.

Erdogan met Wednesday with his national security council and council of ministers, the latter of which approved the state of emergency recommendation.

“The purpose of the declaration of the state of emergency is, in fact, to be able to take the most efficient steps in order to remove this threat as soon as possible, which is a threat to democracy, to the rule of law and to the rights and freedoms of the citizens in our country,” Erdogan said, according to a government translation.

Erdogan, speaking to a national television audience, said the state of emergency was not a threat to democracy. Governors will have expanded powers and the army will be under the command and control of the governors, the President said.

He guaranteed that all the “viruses” in the armed forces would be cleansed.

“It is very similar to a cancer,” he said. “It is like a metastasis that is going on in the body that is Turkey. And we will clean it out.”

The President praised the reactions to the coup attempt, in which 246 people died and 1,536 were wounded.

“Every member of our nation came together as one,” he said.

MORE: Soul-searching after the failed coup

Mass firings

Turkey has now fired or suspended about 50,000 people after a failed coup over the weekend as it intensifies its vast purge – battering the country’s security forces and many of its democratic institutions.

MORE: Turkey’s power cutoff to Incirlik Air Base a problem for Pentagon

Police try to stop people from attacking a judge, suspected in the failed coup plot, in Erzurum, Turkey on Tuesday, July 19. Turkey has fired or suspended about 50,000 people as the government intensifies a crackdown following last weekend's failed coup attempt. Teachers, journalists, police and judges have been affected.

Police escort Turkish soldiers, accused of taking part in the attempted coup, as they leave a courthouse in Istanbul's Bakirkoy neighborhood on Saturday, July 16.

Turkish police officers cover the eyes of soldiers as they are transported in a bus from the courthouse in Istanbul on July 16.

Akin Ozturk, front row, center, a four-star general and former commander of the Turkish air force, is among those in police custody whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has accused of having led the failed coup attempt.

In a mass detention in Ankara, dozens of detainees are forced to kneel, partially stripped.

A man waves a Turkish flag from a car roof during a July 16 march around Kizilay Square in Ankara after the attempted military coup.

Damaged vehicles are abundant outside the presidential palace in Ankara on July 16.

People kick and beat a Turkish soldier suspected in the attempted coup on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge on July 16.

Women react after people took over a military position on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.

People gather outside the Turkish Parliament in Ankara during an extraordinary session after the failed coup attempt.

Turkey Prime Minister Binali Yildirim addresses the Turkish Parliament after the failed coup attempt.

A protester rests on a bench as smoke billows from the Turkish military headquarters in Ankara.

People stand under a huge Turkish flag during a march around Kizilay Square in Ankara in reaction to the attempted coup.

Members of the Turkish military surrender on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge on after a failed coup attempt.

People protesting against the coup wave a Turkish flag on top of a monument in Istanbul's Taksim Square.

Clothes and weapons belonging to soldiers involved in the coup attempt are scattered on Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.

A Turkish police officer in Istanbul embraces a man on a tank in the wake of the violence overnight.

Smoke billows from the direction of the Presidential Palace in Ankara on July 16.

People gather on top of a Turkish military tank in Ankara in the morning after the coup attempt. National intelligence officials said the coup was put down and that the government remains in control.

Turkish people wave national flags from a car in Istanbul.

People gather around a car damaged by a tank in Kizilay Square early on July 16.

People take to the streets near the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge during clashes with military forces in Istanbul.

People escape the clashes in Ankara early Saturday.

Tanks move into position as Turkish citizens attempt to stop them in Ankara.

Citizens in Sivas rush to the streets during the chaotic coup attempt.

A man approaches Turkish military with his hands up at the entrance to the partially closed Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.

A wounded man is given medical care at the entrance to the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul after clashes with Turkish military.

People react in front of the Justice and Development Party's headquarters in Karabuk.

Soldiers secure an area as supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim Square.

Turkish military members make their way through the streets of Istanbul.

Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in front of soldiers in Istanbul's Taksim Square.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks on CNN Turk via a FaceTime call in Istanbul after members of the country's military attempted to overthrow the government.

Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's iconic Bosphorus Bridge.

Turkish security officers detain police officers, seen in black, in Istanbul, during a security shutdown on the Bosphorus Bridge.

A military airplane is seen flying over Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged people to take to the streets and stand up to the military.

People take cover near the Bosphorus Bridge as military airplanes fly overhead.

Turkish soldiers are seen on the Asian side of Istanbul.

A Turkish security officer stands guard on the side of the road.

Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge.

Failed military coup in Turkey

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Teachers, journalists, police and judges alike have been caught in a net authorities are casting wider by the day, in what is increasingly looking like a witch-hunt to suppress dissent.In total, more than 9,400 people are being detained, the vast majority of them from the military.

How safe are U.S. nukes in Turkey?

Western leaders have urged Erdogan and his government to respect democratic principles and act within the law in response to talk of reviving the death penalty and heavy-handed punishments over the coup.

Men detained in the wake of the failed coup in Turkey.

Who has been netted?

The purge has gutted the leadership in the country’s security forces, with at least 118 generals and admirals detained, stripping the general-rank command of the Turkish military by a third, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.

Authorities have also suspended 8,777 Ministry of Interior personnel, mostly police, as well as 100 Turkish intelligence service personnel, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Here’s a tally of just some of the others who have been affected, according to Anadolu:

- 21,738 teachers in private institutions have had their licenses revoked;

- 2,745 judges and prosecutors have been listed for detention, although it is unclear if they have all been detained;

- 1,577 university deans have been asked to resign.

Anadolu reported that Turkey’s top broadcasting authority on Tuesday revoked the licenses for 24 radio and television companies that it said are linked to Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan blames for masterminding the coup.

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Exclusive: Turkish president wants cleric extradited

10:01 - Source: CNN

Turkey on Tuesday formally requested the extradition of Gulen from the United States, where he lives in self-imposed exile.

MORE: Who is man blamed for coup?

WikiLeaks shut down

The government has blocked WikiLeaks after the whistleblower website dumped almost 300,000 emails from Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday evening.

Access was restricted because of a “violation of privacy and publication of illegally obtained data,” a Turkish official told CNN.

The organization had reported late Monday night that it had come under a sustained cyberattack after announcing on social media its plan to leak hundreds of thousands of documents on “Turkish power.”

On Wednesday, using the hashtag #TurkeyPurge, WikiLeaks confirmed Erdogan’s government had ordered the site be blocked and offered users advice on proxies and IPs to use to access the site.

The most recent emails were sent on July 6 and the oldest dates back to 2010, WikiLeaks said.

‘Crackdown of exceptional proportions’

Rights group Amnesty International said that authorities had canceled 34 journalists’ press cards and called on Turkish authorities to not “arbitrarily restrict freedom of expression.”

“We are witnessing a crackdown of exceptional proportions in Turkey at the moment,” said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s Turkey researcher.

“Turkey’s people are still reeling from the shocking events of the weekend and it is vital that press freedom and the unhindered circulation of information are protected, rather than stifled.”

The Turkish President's supporters celebrate after soldiers surrendered on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge.

State broadcaster TRT lost 370 staff members who have been suspended, according to CNN Turk.

Hundreds more have been suspended from the Prime Minister’s office and government bodies dealing with religious affairs, family and social policy and development. The total fired or suspended is around 50,000 people.

More than 9,000 people are currently in detention and are under investigation over the coup, according to Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus.

Turkey’s Council of Higher Education also demanded all universities suspend academic assignments abroad and that an investigation be launched into all staff linked to what it calls the “Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization,” Anadolu reported.

Will Gulen be extradited?

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Erdogan on Tuesday about the coup and the status of Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania.

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Updated 5:54 PM EDT, Wed July 20, 2016

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Who is Fethullah Gulen?

03:56 - Source: CNN

Obama “strongly condemned” the coup attempt and “expressed his support for Turkish democracy,” a White House news release said, without explaining whether Gulen would be extradited.

Exclusive: Erdogan vows revenge

Under the U.S.-Turkey extradition agreement, Washington can only extradite a person if he or she has committed an “extraditable act.” Treason – such as that implied by Erdogan’s demand for Gulen’s extradition – is not listed as such an act in the countries’ treaty.

Turkish anti-riot police officers in Istanbul escort soldiers accused of taking party in a military coup that failed over the weekend.

Does the U.S. have to extradite Gulen?

The Muslim cleric has denied any involvement in the coup attempt.

Gulen, in a statement released Tuesday, said Erdogan “once again demonstrated he will go to any length necessary to solidify his power and persecute his critics.”

EXCLUSIVE: Erdogan won’t rule out death penalty

“It is ridiculous, irresponsible and false to suggest I had anything to do with the horrific failed coup. I urge the U.S. government to reject any effort to abuse the extradition process to carry out political vendettas,” he said.

The reclusive cleric leads a popular movement called Hizmet, which includes hundreds of secular co-ed schools, free tutoring centers, hospitals and relief agencies credited with addressing Turkey’s social problems.

Soldiers sent for president told target a ‘terrorist’

Soldiers sent to apprehend Erdogan during the attempted coup were told they were to “capture an important terrorist leader,” Anadolu reported.

The soldiers involved in the President’s apprehension were informed of the details of the coup as they were being airlifted to a hotel in a resort town where Erdogan and his family were vacationing during Friday’s deadly attempted takeover.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the extended meeting with provincial heads of ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara, Turkey on October 10, 2019. (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Recep Tayyip Erdogan Fast Facts

It is unclear how many soldiers participated in the attack, during which two of Erdogan’s bodyguards were killed, and it is unclear how loyal the troops were, given that they were briefed on the coup so late in proceedings.

Meanwhile, Erdogan’s military aide, Lt. Col. Erkan Kivrak, has been taken into custody in southern Turkey for alleged ties to the plotters, according to Anadolu.

Several senior figures in the military are facing court in Ankara, military officials have said.

CNN’s Steve Almasy, Karen Smith, Simon Cullen, Euan McKirdy, Hamdi Alkhshali, Andrew Carey, Sara Ganim, Nic Robertson, Salma Abdelaziz, Onur Cakir and Gul Tuysuz contributed to this report. Isil Sariyuce reported from Istanbul. Journalist Angela Dewan wrote from London.