European Union: Member States Warn Turkey Against Use of Death Penalty After Failed Coup Attempt ( Archived) (57)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pledged to overhaul the army in response to last week's failed coup, a sign that a newly imposed state of emergency would be used to press on with a purge that has alarmed the West.

In a sign of Turkey's dismissal of outside criticism over how it has responded to the coup, the justice minister said Turkey would not bow to pressure from the European Union to rule out restoring the death penalty to execute the plotters.

Western countries backed Turkey's government during last week's failed putsch, but are increasingly worried about Turkey's subsequent crackdown against thousands of members of the security forces, judiciary, civil service and academia.

On Wednesday Erdogan announced a state of emergency, a move he said would allow the government to take swift action against those who plotted the coup that killed more than 246 people and wounded more than 2,100 before it collapsed within hours.

The possibility of Turkey bringing back capital punishment for the plotters has put further strain on Ankara's relationship with the EU, which Turkey seeks to join but which demands candidates forego the death penalty.

Turkey outlawed capital punishment in 2004 as part of its bid to join the bloc and European officials have said backtracking on that would effectively put an end to the EU accession process. But crowds at rallies have demanded the coup plotters be executed, and the government says it must at least consider it.

"People demand the death penalty and that demand will surely be assessed. We have to assess that demand from the standpoint of law, and not according to what the EU says," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told broadcaster CNN Turk.

Western governments worry about instability and human rights in the country of 80 million, which plays an important part in the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State and in the European Union's efforts to stem the flow of refugees from Syria.

Erdogan accuses Fethullah Gulen, a charismatic U.S.-based cleric, of masterminding the plot against him. In a crackdown on Gulen's suspected followers, more than 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, civil servants and teachers have been suspended, detained or placed under investigation.

In an interview with Reuters late on Thursday, Erdogan compared the Gulen movement to a cancer and said he would restructure the military to give it "fresh blood".