Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied his supporters outside a mosque in Ankara yesterday as the EU slammed his wide-ranging crackdown.

“Victory belongs to the faithful,” he told hundreds who gathered in the capital. Mr Erdogan declared July 15 — the date of the botched coup — a national holiday in remembrance of “martyrs” who were killed in the coup.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn urged Turkey “to respect under any circumstances the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.”