Last night, the Turkish Parliament extended for another three months the state of emergency that was introduced in that country after the coup attempt on July 15 last year. Deputies of the ruling party and nationalist parties approved the extension of the state of emergency until April 20, according to the AP agency. The state of emergency allows the government to bypass parliament in passing new laws, as well as to limit or suspend the rights and freedoms of citizens if it deems it necessary. Turkey imposed a state of emergency to crack down on a network linked to preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom authorities in Ankara hold responsible for orchestrating the coup. Gulen, who is currently in exile in the US, has denied the accusations. Critics say the government is using the state of emergency to crack down on political opponents, including pro-Kurdish politicians. According to AP, during the investigation into the coup plotters, more than 41.000 people were arrested on suspicion of being connected to Imam Fethullah Gulen, more than 100.000 people were fired from the civil service and many media outlets were closed.
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