Deputy PM: Turkey extends state of emergency by three months

Turkey extended its state of emergency on Monday by three months starting from Wednesday, its third such extension after a coup attempt last July, a deputy prime minister said. The decision came after the National Security Council advised extending it, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters in a press conference in Ankara.

Emergency rule, first imposed in Turkey after an abortive military coup on July 15 and then extended in October, enables the government to bypass parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms when deemed necessary.

Turkey has formally arrested more than 40,000 people during the investigation of the coup, which it has blamed on Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers. More than 100,000 people in total, including soldiers, police officers, teachers, judges and journalists, have been suspended.