Turkey releases 750 soldiers detained after coup attempt

Turkey on Saturday released more than 750 soldiers who had been detained after an abortive coup, state media reported, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would drop lawsuits against those who had insulted him, in a one-time gesture of "unity."

More than 60,000 people have been detained, removed or suspended over suspected links with the coup attempt, when a faction of the military commandeered tanks, helicopters and fighter jets and attempted to topple the government.

Turkey also announced it will shut down its military academies and put the armed forces under the command of the defence minister.

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Turkey's Western allies have condemned the coup, in which Erdogan has said 237 people were killed and more than 2,100 were wounded, but have been rattled by the scale of the crackdown since.

The purges have targeted supporters of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Ankara of masterminding the July 15-16 failed coup. The cleric denies the charges and Erdogan's critics say the president is using the purges to clamp down on dissent.

On Saturday, Erdogan called Gulen a pawn backed by a "mastermind," hinting that greater powers were behind the attempted putsch. ​

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Erdogan often refers to a "mastermind" in his speeches, a reference widely seen as an allusion to the West in general and the United States more specifically.  

The United States has denied any involvement and any prior knowledge of the failed attempt to overthrow the government.

State-run Anadolu Agency reported that 758 soldiers were released on the recommendation of prosecutors after giving testimony. A judge agreed, calling their detention unnecessary, Anadolu said.

Another 231 soldiers remain in custody, it said. Turkey's military, the second-largest in NATO, has been hard hit in the wake of the coup. On Thursday, 99 colonels were promoted to the rank of general or admiral, following the dishonourable discharge of nearly 1,700 military personnel over their alleged roles in the coup.

About 40 per cent of all generals and admirals in the military have been dismissed since the coup. Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik told broadcaster NTV on Friday that the shake-up in the military was not yet over, adding that military academies would now be a target of "cleansing". Turkey's military is already stretched, given the violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast, and threats from Islamic State attacks on its border with Syria. ​

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The Associated Press reported that 64 employees at the constitutional Court were suspended until an assessment could be made on any possible links they have to the July 15 attempted coup, the court said in a statement Saturday. Eight other employees had already been dismissed and were detained on July 18, it said.

​In an unexpected move, Erdogan said late on Friday he would drop, as a one-off gesture, all lawsuits filed against people for insulting him. He said the decision was triggered by feelings of "unity" against the coup attempt. It could also be aimed at silencing his Western critics. 

Prosecutors have opened more than 1,800 cases against people for insulting Erdogan since he became president in 2014, the justice minister said earlier this year. Those targeted include journalists, cartoonists and even children.