ISTANBUL—Turkish authorities dismissed more than 18,000 state employees for alleged ties to terror groups on Sunday, a dramatic extension of mass purges launched after the 2016 failed military coup as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is about begin a new term with vastly expanded executive powers.
An emergency decree published in Turkey’s Official Gazette listed the names, saying they had been “removed from public duty” over their alleged links to organizations that “act against national security.”
The list, which was reviewed during a cabinet meeting convened by Mr. Erdogan last month, included nearly 9,000 police officers, over 6,000 military personnel, and about 1,000 employees from the justice ministry.
The decree was released on the eve of a ceremony in Ankara, Turkey’s capital city, during which Mr. Erdogan is due to be sworn in for a new five-year mandate following his victory in the June 24 presidential election.
With his re-election, Mr. Erdogan has gained more executive power over legislation and the judiciary thanks to constitutional changes voters approved last year.
Some government officials have said that with such powers, Mr. Erdogan won’t need to extend the “extraordinary rule” that allows for exceptional police measures and governance by decree, and which has been in place since the coup attempt in July 2016.
The latest wave of dismissal brings the number of civil servants and public sector workers who have been dismissed over alleged links to terror groups to about 130,000.
The U.S. and the European Union have expressed concern that Mr. Erdogan used the coup to widen the purge well beyond the alleged participants, while human rights groups have denounced the tens of thousands of arrests that have ensued as arbitrary.
But Turkish authorities say they aren’t done tracking supporters of Fetullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric residing in the U.S. and once an ally of Mr. Erdogan, whom the president accuses of fomenting the failed coup.
Mr. Gulen denies playing any role in the coup attempt.
Write to David Gauthier-Villars at David.Gauthier-Villars@wsj.com
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