Erdoğan’s statements came days after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Turkiye for convicting a teacher in the wake of the 2016 attempted coup on the grounds he had downloaded an encrypted messaging app linked to the alleged plotters.
The ruling that the rights of Yuksel Yalcinkaya had been violated could set a precedent, with thousands of similar cases pending before the Strasbourg-based court.
Ankara accuses the Fethullah Gulen movement of orchestrating the coup attempt to overthrow Erdoğan, and says a messaging app called ByLock was used to coordinate the plot.
Thousands of people were arrested and convicted following the failed coup attempt.
Erdoğan said yesterday the ECHR decision was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”.
“This decision will not bring any relief to the miscreant members of the Gulen group,” the president said, stressing that his country “will not take a step back in the fight against this group of traitors.”
