In Turkey, thousands of personnel have been fired for suspected involvement in the recent failed military coup that killed some 300 people. 492 members of the country’s top Islamic authority were among those dismissed. Meanwhile, President Tayyip Erdogan has accused a U.S. based cleric of masterminding the coup. The cleric has denied any involvement. Erdogan has suggested that he might reinstate the death penalty to punish those involved in the uprising but the European Union has said that as a member of the EU, Turkey is forbidden from reintroducing capital punishment.