Turkey approves new counter terrorism law

The Republic of Turkey has officially approved a counter-terrorism bill six days after the two-year state of emergence came to an end. The legal code comes from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Terrorism suspects can now be held in custody for 48 hours or four days for questioning under the pretext of national security, according to Al Jazeera. Adding to this, Turkish authorities can control who can enter and exit specific designated areas for up to 15 days.

The bill also permits the government to dismiss members of the armed forces at any time, including police and public service departments, if they are found to be linked to a terror organisation.

The bill will be forwarded to the president for his formal approval before being published in the official gazette.

Opposition groups in government have criticised the new law calling it a “damaging process”.

The government declared a state of emergency for the first time on 20 July 2016, following a coup attempt which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

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