Turkey Bans University Professors from Traveling Abroad

In the ongoing developments in Turkey following the failed coup, the Turkish government announced that university professors are prohibited from traveling abroad until further notice. On Wednesday, July 30, news agencies AFP and Reuters reported, citing Turkish state news agencies, that the Higher Education Council of Turkey also informed the universities that those professors who are currently on work or study missions abroad must return home 'as soon as possible.' In recent days, following the coup's failure, the Turkish government has detained, suspended, or dismissed around 50,000 military personnel, teachers, and judges. Approximately 1,600 heads of private and public faculties were also removed from their positions on Tuesday, all accused by the Turkish government of having connections with Fethullah Gülen, a cleric opposed to Erdoğan's government. Nevertheless, the Higher Education Council of Turkey has again requested that university heads continue to investigate the connections of their professors or executive staff with Gülen and report the results to the government by August 6. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling party have identified Gülen as responsible for the failed coup, but Gülen, who lives in the United States, has denied these accusations. Turkish officials have repeatedly emphasized in recent days that the United States must extradite Gülen. In response, Washington stated that if Turkey has credible and precise evidence, it should present it so that the U.S. can make decisions based on it. In this context, Erdoğan remarked about the coup perpetrators: 'People say they should be executed.' The U.S. Secretary of State called for respect for democracy and law in Turkey, while the UN Human Rights Commissioner criticized the crackdowns in Turkey. The purges in Turkey continue, with the number of those expelled from government and security institutions reaching 50,000. A phone conversation took place between Obama and Erdoğan regarding Gülen's extradition. WikiLeaks published approximately 300,000 emails from members of Turkey's ruling party.