Turkey extends state of emergency by three months as protests continues

Turkey on Monday extended its state of emergency by another three months starting from Wednesday, April 19. The decision will be the third of such extension after an attempted failed coup last July, a deputy prime minister said. 


According to Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, Turkey's National Security Council has called for the country's state of emergency to be extended for another three months. 
 
The decision comes a day after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan narrowly won a referendum on constitutional changes, which will grant the president more new powers.

Emergency rule was first imposed in Turkey after a failed military coup on July 15 and then extended in October, which enables the government to bypass parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms when deemed necessary.

More than 40,000 people were arrested after the coup, with more than 100,000 people, including soldiers, police officers, teachers, judges and journalists, suspended from their jobs.

'No' voters demonstrated in Istanbul on Monday night

Meanwhile thousands of protestors took to the streets of Istanbul on Monday for a second night of protests to denounced new powers granted to Erdogan.

Reuters