State Dep’t Withholds Criticism of Mass Detentions, Suspensions in Turkey – But Denies Its Response Is Muted
By Patrick Goodenough | July 22, 2016 | 4:00 AM EDT
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses supporters outside his residence in Istanbul on July 19, 2016. His government has carried out tens of thousands of detentions and suspensions since last Friday’s coup attempt. (AP Photo)
(CNSNews.com) – State Department spokesman John Kirby declined Thursday to say whether Turkey’s post-coup attempt crackdown is excessive, saying he was “not going to litigate from the podium every decision that they’re making.”
At the same time, he rejected the notion that the administration was being “muted” in its response to the mass detentions, sackings and suspensions ordered by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, now numbering around 60,000 – in what Amnesty International described as “a crackdown of exceptional proportions.”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/state-dept-withholds-criticism-mass-detentions-suspensions-turkey
