No Script

Please Wait...

Al-Ahed Telegram

Turkey Targets Media after Coup As Erdogan Meets Opposition

Turkey Targets Media after Coup As Erdogan Meets Opposition
folder_openTurkey access_time7 years ago
starAdd to favorites

Local Editor

Turkish authorities Monday issued arrest warrants for over 40 journalists in a new phase of the controversial legal crackdown after the failed coup, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to host opposition party chiefs for an unprecedented meeting.

Turkey Targets Media after Coup As Erdogan Meets Opposition

Over 13,000 people had been detained so far in a vast sweep in the wake of the July 15 coup bid, which the authorities blame on the reclusive US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Istanbul anti-terror prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 42 journalists as part of the investigation into the failed coup, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

Among those targeted by the warrants were prominent journalist Nazli Ilicak who was fired from the pro-government Sabah daily in 2013 for criticizing ministers caught up in a corruption scandal, it added.

There was no indication any of the journalists had been detained so far.

The government blamed the 2013 corruption scandal on Gulen, with some officials at the time calling it a coup bid aimed at ousting the president.

Erdogan's government had been under fire even before the failed putsch for restricting press freedoms in Turkey, accusations the authorities strongly deny.

In new raids Monday, police detained some 40 suspects at the army's military academy on the European side of Istanbul, Anadolu reported.

Amnesty International in London claimed it had "credible evidence" of the beating and torture of post-coup detainees but a Turkish official vehemently denied the accusations.

Turkey has undergone a seismic shift since the night of violence when renegade soldiers sought to topple Erdogan but were stopped by crowds of civilians and loyalist security forces. At least 270 people were killed on both sides.

The authorities had announced they will disband the 2,500-strong Presidential Guard, almost 300 of whose members had been detained.

The length of time suspects can be held in custody without charge had been extended from four days to one month under a state of emergency that has caused alarm in the EU.

Erdogan's government has also sacked thousands of teachers, professors and civil servants and closed schools and universities.

The government said the stringent measures are needed to clear out the influence of Gulen from Turkey's institutions, claiming that he has created a "parallel state" inside Turkey.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

Comments