Turkey set to release 38,000 prisoners

The reform, extending an existing probation scheme, was one of a series of measures outlined today in two new decrees under a state of emergency declared after the July 15 failed putsch during which 240 people were killed. The government gave no reason for the reform. Turkey’s Western allies worry President Tayyip Erdogan is using the crackdown to target dissent. Dismissing concerns over stability in the NATO member, officials say they are rooting out a serious internal threat. The decrees, published in the country’s Official Gazette, also ordered the dismissal of 2,360 more police officers, more than 100 military personnel and 196 staff at Turkey’s information and communication technology authority, BTK.