Freed: 758 soldiers who made fun of Erdogan

ANKARA: Turkey on Saturday released more than 750 soldiers who had been detained after an abortive coup, state media reported, while President Tayyip Erdogan said he would drop as a one-off gesture lawsuits against those who had insulted him in a one-time gesture of “unity.”

He said the decision was triggered by feelings of “unity” against the coup attempt.

About 40 percent of all generals and admirals in the military have been dismissed since the coup.

Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik told broadcaster NTV on Friday that the shake-up in the military was not yet over, adding that military academies would now be a target of “cleansing.”

Turkey’s military is already stretched, given the violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast, and threats from Daesh attacks on its border with Syria.

The army killed 35 Kurdish militants after they attempted to storm a base in the southeastern Hakkari province early on Saturday, military officials said.

The head of the pro-Kurdish opposition told Reuters that the government’s chance to revive a wrecked peace process with Kurdish rebels has been missed as Erdogan taps nationalist sentiment to consolidate support.

It was not immediately clear whether Erdogan would also drop his legal action against German comedian Jan Boehmermann, who earlier this year recited a poem on television suggesting Erdogan engaged in bestiality and watched child pornography, prompting the president to file a complaint with German prosecutors that he had been insulted.

On Saturday, 56 employees of Turkey’s constitutional court were suspended from their jobs as part of the investigation into the alleged coup, private broadcaster Haberturk TV reported.

Among those, more than 20 court reporters were detained, it reported.