Turkey has said it will suspend the European convention on human rights during a state of emergency declared in the aftermath of last weekend’s coup attempt.
"Turkey will suspend the European convention on human rights insofar as it does not conflict with its international obligations," the deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmus, was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency.
The state of emergency will allow the government to rule by decree, passing bills that have the force of the rule of law unless they are overturned by parliament, where the majority of MPs belong to the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party.
Kurtulmus said Turkey would take the step "just like France has done under article 15 of the convention," which allows signatory states to derogate certain rights during times of war or major public emergency.
Article 15 and other international rights treaties allow governments to restrict certain rights, including freedom of movement, expression and association during states of emergency. However, the article stipulates that measures must be strictly proportionate and not discriminate against people based on ethnicity, religion or social group.
Can Dundar, the editor of the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, said the emergency state meant Turkey now had "an oppressive regime where the law and liberties will be suspended, press will be censored, and the parliament eliminated".
Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, urged the Turkish government to maintain both the rule of law and a sense of proportion in its response to the coup attempt.
"Only provable involvement in illegal acts, not suspected political leanings, should trigger governmental action," Steinmeier said. "It’s also critical that the declaration of emergency be the truly necessary length of time, and to end the measure as quickly as possible."