Turkey extends period of detention without charge

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday extended the period for detaining suspects without charge to 30 days, an official statement said.

The statement also ordered the closure of more than 1,000 private schools and more than 1,200 associations, BBC reported.

The move follows last week's failed coup attempt against Erdogan and the subsequent declaration of a state of emergency.

The Turkish leader has said the state of emergency will allow the authorities to deal with the aftermath of the failed coup effectively, allowing them to restore order, draft new laws and restrict or suspend rights and freedoms.

At least 60,000 state employees have been detained or suspended in an internationally criticised purge.

Education ministry officials, private school teachers and university heads of faculty together account for more than half the people targeted, state-run Anadolu News Agency reported.

Institutions ordered to be shut down included 19 trade unions, 15 universities and 35 medical institutes, the agency said.

The measures have been criticised by France and Germany, as well as top European Union officials, but Turkey has defended its actions, saying only those "100 per cent identified" with those behind the coup are being targeted, BBC noted.

Erdogan told France 24 television on Saturday that the EU was "biased and prejudiced" against Turkey.

--IANS

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