UN urges Turkey to end state of emergency, halt human rights violations

The UN has called on Turkey to end the state of emergency in place since July 2016 that it said had led to widespread human rights violations. They include the arrest of 160,000 people and dismissal of nearly the same number of civil servants, often arbitrarily, according to the UN human rights office. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the emergency after a failed July 2016 coup and issued more than 20 decrees which have often led to torture of detainees, impunity and interference with the judiciary, the UN said on Tuesday. It added that Ankara should “promptly end the state of emergency and restore the normal functioning of institutions and the rule of law,” Reuters reports.