Turkish parliament approves new anti-terror law

Turkish parliament approves new anti-terror law

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya/IANS)

Ankara, July 26 (IANS) Turkish parliament has ratified a new anti-terrorism law proposed by the ruling party, six days after the two-year-long state of emergency ended.

The law was backed by lawmakers of the ruling Justice and Development Party and Nationalist Movement Party, Xinhua news agency reported.

The new legislation, approved on Wednesday, empowers governors and security forces with certain powers that they could previously exercise under the state of emergency for another three years.

With the law, governors can prohibit individuals from leaving or entering a defined area for 15 days over security concerns, while suspects can be detained without charge for 48 hours or up to four days if there are multiple offences. This period can be extended on two occasions under special circumstances.

The law also authorizes the government to dismiss personnel of Turkish Armed Forces, police and gendarmerie departments, and public servants and workers if they are found linked to a terror organisation.

On July 18, the country's state of emergency rule came to an end since it was not renewed by the cabinet. The opposition Republican People's Party had criticized the new anti-terror legislation as a ploy to make "emergency rule permanent."

The law will be forwarded to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his formal approval and will be published later in the official gazette.

--IANS

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