In the midst of a controversial constitutional amendment process and the possibility of another election or referendum approaching, Turkey is making drastic changes to its citizenship laws without any public debate or parliamentary oversight.

On Jan. 6, another round of legislative decrees was introduced with the sole approval of the president and his Cabinet. Decree No. 680 stipulates that individuals who are under investigation from one of eight different articles of the Turkish penal code could be stripped of their citizenship if they fail to return to Turkey in 90 days. Pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) newspapers reported this news with jubilation, focusing exclusively on members of the Gulen organization.

However, the idea of stripping people of Turkish citizenship has been on Erdogan’s mind since before the attempted coup in July. For example, in April, Erdogan said, “We are determined to take all precautions including stripping the supporters of terror organizations from [Turkish] citizenship.” Finally, it is now the law in Turkey.

Indeed, this is the reincarnation of a decree from the 1980 coup era. In 2009, it was the AKP that had abolished it. Because of the 1980 law, 14,000 dissidents lost citizenship. Ironically, in 2011, Erdogan extended an invitation to all the victims of the 1980 decree, asking them to return home.