Authorities on Wednesday issued warrants for the detention of 47 former executives or senior journalists of Zaman newspaper, allegedly associated with the USA -based Muslim cleric who the government says is behind Turkey’s July 15 failed coup. They have sharply accelerated the crackdown since the coup attempt, suspending, detaining or placing under investigation more than 60,000 soldiers, police, teachers, judges, civil servants and others.
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The government says US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind the army-led attempted coup – a claim he denies.
Wednesday’s list of journalists to be detained includes some known for their leftist activism who do not share the religious world view of the Gulenist movement. This has fuelled the concerns that the investigation may be turning into a witch-hunt of the president’s political opponents.
The latest arrests come just two days after the Turkish government issued warrants for 42 other journalists including a well-respected commentator Nazli Ilicak, who was also a former member of parliament.
At least one journalist, former Zaman columnist Sahin Alpay, was detained at his home early on Wednesday, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
On July 15, a coup attempt took place in Turkey and was suppressed the following day.
Erdogan, a popular but polarising figure who has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade, will chair an annual meeting of the Supreme Military Council (YAS) on Thursday after vowing to restructure the armed forces following the coup. It said 37 tanks and 246 armoured vehicles were also used in the coup attempt and added that it has the power to put down any further threats.
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Separately, almost 1,700 members of the armed forces – including 149 generals and admirals – have been discharged.
