One of Turkey’s most respected prosecutors called it “the end of the state of law” and a ruling party official a boost to combatting terror. But whichever way you look at it, the latest set of emergency decrees announced by the government over the weekend is poised to further entrench the culture of impunity that has reigned over the country since last year’s failed coup.
On top of the sacking of some 2,700 government workers, the pair of new decrees published in the Official Gazette on Dec. 24 grant immunity from prosecution for any person, regardless of whether they were acting in any official capacity, deemed to have been resisting "terrorists" or attempts to overthrow the government during the coup. Most controversially, it grants similar immunity to the self-appointed guardians acting against anything that could be construed as a “continuation” of the coup attempt.
