In a further blow to Turkey’s spotty global image, the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called March 8 for Turkey to come under its formal scrutiny, a status reserved for members that are deemed to be backsliding on democracy. Nine countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Russia are currently on that hook.

In a report statement the Strasbourg-based body, of which Turkey is a founding member, said, “Eight months after the [July 15] failed coup and the declaration of a state of emergency, the Monitoring Committee is concerned to note that there has been a serious deterioration of the functioning of democratic institutions in the country.”

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; color: #4d4d4d; -webkit-text-stroke: #4d4d4d} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} A Final decision on Turkey's status is set to be made in April.

PACE cited the tidal wave of purges that have engulfed the country, with a quarter of all judges and prosecutors, a tenth of the police force, 30% of diplomats and 5,000 academics sacked without legal recourse. It also expressed alarm over widespread detentions of journalists and the lifting of immunity of 154 members of parliament.