Bekir Bozdağ

Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, believed to have orchestrated Turkey's failed July 15 coup attempt, is planning to flee from the U.S. in order to avoid being extradited, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has claimed.

The new legislative year of the Turkish parliament is set to kick off on Oct. 1, as debate on decree laws issued under the state of emergency are expected to dominate the agenda. 
The Turkish parliament, which has been on summer recess since Aug. 20, will convene at 3 p.m. under the leadership of Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman.      

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said members of the Gülen movement, which was blamed for the July 15 failed seizure of government, were engaging in "dark propaganda," as he commented on the rumors about a potential second coup attempt.

Turkish authorities have laid off 1,500 prison employees and supervisors, reported Reuters, citing Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag.

According to him, the people laid off are under investigation for links to Fethullah Gulen. Ankara claims that the cleric living in the USA is behind the coup attempt on July 15.

Around 32,000 people have been arrested as part of the investigation into the failed coup of July 15, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has announced, while hinting at the possibility that new courtrooms might be built in some places based on necessity.

Turkey may have to build new courthouses to cope with thousands of prosecutions following the failed July 15 coup attempt, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said on Sept. 28, as the number of arrests reached 32,000. 

The Turkish Justice Ministry has sent a judicial reform package to the Prime Ministry including heavier penalties for sexual abuse of minors and graded sentences in accordance with the age of the victim.

The Turkish Justice Ministry has introduced heavier penalties for assaults causing injuries, after a controversial court decision to release an assailant caused an uproar in the country. Those who commit intentional offences against the physical integrity of another person will be able to be arrested with the ministry's draft law, Anadolu Agency reported on Sept. 19. 

Ankara's anger against U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass over his expression of concern regarding the appointment of trustees to 28 local municipalities due to alleged terror links continues to simmer, with Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu describing Bass' remarks as "provocative." 

The brother of Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), paid a visit to Imralı Island Prison in the Marmara Sea on Sept. 11, one day after the jailed PKK leader was granted a family visit during the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday on the island where he is serving an aggravated life term.