Turkey will develop a new rule to strip citizenship from Turks found to be supporting terrorism.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag disclosed the plan Wednesday, one day after it was floated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The call for the new rule comes as Turkey faces unprecedented security troubles in a renewed battle against the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK), which has been fighting for self-determination for Kurds, and ongoing threats from the Islamic State.
Rights advocates fear that anti-terrorism laws will be used in courts to further suppress discussion on the Kurdish conflict and other issues.
Erdogan did not specify who would be targeted as Turkey attempts to identify supporters of terrorism. In the past, the Turkish justice minister said those accused of supporting terrorism, including journalists and aid workers, are no different from terrorists themselves.
Turkish anti-terrorism laws are already used to detain opposition journalists and academics, some of whom were recently imprisoned for speaking out against Turkey’s conflict with Kurdish rebels.
