Detention warrants for 42 Turkish journalists have been issued by authorities, Turkish media reported on Monday. Ankara has not publicly commented on the claim.
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So far, there was no indication that any of the journalists had been arrested, but the prosecutor said an operation was underway to detain them.
The most prominent of the 42 is 72-year-old Nazli Ilicak. He was sacked from pro-government Sabah daily in 2013 for criticizing ministers who were involved in a corruption scandal.
The Turkish government accuses cleric Fethullah Gulen of being behind the attempted coup which was led by the army.
However, Gulen, who has been living in a self-imposed exile in the US for years, “categorically” denied any involvement in the plot, calling the accusation “insulting”.
He added that any country which adopts the death penalty has no place in the EU.
The leader of Turkey’s main parliamentary opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has harshly condemned the July 15 coup during a major rally on Sunday in Istanbul.
Mr Erdogan launched a widespread crackdown following the failed coup, arresting thousands of service personnel and sacking or suspending thousands of judges, government officials, school teachers and university heads.
Turkey’s bloody coup attempt plotted by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization is not seen as a threat to democracy, according to an article written by American writer Steven Cook.
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More than 13,000 people, including almost 9,000 soldiers, 2,100 judges and prosecutors and 1,485 police, have been detained in Turkey’s post-rebellion crackdown, according to the president.
