Istanbul mayor suggests separate cemetery for coup plotters

Addressing a "democracy watch," a rally held every night since last week's failed coup attempt by Gülenists in the military, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş said those killed while trying to take over the state should be buried in "a special cemetery for traitors." Praising the mayor of a northern city who refused a request for a plot to bury an officer killed during the coup attempt because of his involvement in the coup, Topbaş said no cemetery would accept traitors.

"I told my colleagues that we can separate the burial sites for traitors. They told me that [traitors] can be buried in a cemetery for unclaimed bodies, but I opposed it, as innocent people are buried there. I instructed them to set up separate plots and to name a section of the cemetery the 'traitors' cemetery' so people passing by their graves can spit on them. According to our faith, people involved in such treason will be punished for eternity in hell in the afterlife, but we shouldn't keep them in peace even when they are dead," he told a fervent crowd booing those involved in the failed coup.

The Istanbul Municipality was among the most affected places in Istanbul during the coup attempt. Seventeen people were killed when troops opened fire on a crowd resisting the takeover of the municipal building in the Saraçhane district. More than 40 others were injured and the takeover was prevented by intervening locals and police squads dispatched to the municipal building. The municipality also sacked 300 people with suspected links to Gülenists.