Free Republic

The only Christian mayor in Turkey, a U.S. NATO ally, has been removed as part of a purge by the ruling Islamist government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following an abortive coup earlier this year. “A massive purge by the Turkish government of politicians and officials accused of being supporters of the network of Fethullah Gulen — the Turkish Islamic preacher, continued this week with the sacking of Februniye Akyol, the first Assyrian Christian to be elected co-mayor in Turkey, in the city of Mardin,” reports Independent Catholic News.

The extent of the crackdown has worried rights groups and many of Turkey's Western allies, who fear Erdogan is using the emergency rule to eradicate dissent. The government says the actions are justified given the threat to the state posed by the coup attempt, in which more than 240 people died. The executive decrees have ordered the closure of 15 more newspapers, wires and magazines, which report from the largely Kurdish southeast, bringing the total number of media outlets and publishers closed since July to nearly 160. Universities have also been stripped of their ability to elect their own rectors...

Nearly 3,000 soldiers arrested and 2,700 judges fired as Turkey begins punishing those linked to attempted coup. Turkey has begun a purge of soldiers and judiciary officials allegedly connected to an effort to topple the government, one day after a failed military coup attempt. By Saturday evening, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had detained 2,839 military personnel, with number of arrests expected to rise, according to Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Turkey's top judicial body, the HSYK, dismissed 2,745 judges on Saturday, according to Turkey's Anadolu news agency.