Luxembourg's foreign minister accused Turkish authorities of using methods reminiscent of those employed by Nazis in a crackdown following July's coup attempt.

In a German radio interview, Jean Asselborn suggested that Turkey's strong economic ties with the European Union could be used to exert pressure on Ankara over human rights issues, ABC News reported on Monday.

Turkey brushed off the accusation, arguing that the movement led by a US-based cleric whom the government accuses of masterminding the failed coup is worse than the Nazis. It insisted it would not be deterred from its efforts to go after cleric Fethullah Gulen's network of followers.

Opposition parties in Turkey and human rights groups accuse the government of clamping down on all critics, not just alleged coup plotters.

Asselborn told Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio that people who've been fired have their names published, have their passports destroyed, have no chance of finding another job and no income, and risk hunger.

"These are methods, one must say this bluntly, that were used during Nazi rule," said Asselborn, who has a record of making outspoken comments. "And there has been a really, really bad evolution in Turkey since July that we as the European Union cannot simply accept".

Source: MENA