saudigazette : Turkey targets media after coup as Erdogan meets opposition

Turkey targets media after coup as Erdogan meets opposition

Ankara — Turkish authorities on 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.Over 13,000 people have 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 Islamic 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.

Turkey issues warrants for 42 journalists in relation to failed coup

Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for 42 journalists as part of an inquiry into alleged plotters of the failed coup, drawing harsh criticism from human rights groups.Related: Fethullah Gülen: Turkey coup may have been 'staged' by Erdoğan regimeThousands of soldiers, police, judges, prosecutors and civil servants have been detained or arrested in connection with their supposed involvement in the attempted putsch of 15 July, but Monday's arrest warrants are the first targeting members of the press.The Turkish government blames the network of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen, a long-time ally of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, now turned foe, for the bloody attempt at a military takeover.

In quest to punish coup plotters, Turkey squeezes out room for dissent

Demonstrators hold a portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, as they gather at Taksim Square in Istanbul on July 24.(Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images)The room for dissent in Turkey had already been under threat.But in the wake of the failed military coup, the space in which political opponents could criticize the government has all but disappeared.

Attempted coup in Turkey sends shockwaves locally

People occupy a tank in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 16, 2016.(Photo: Tolga Bozoglu, EPA)Many people in Tallahassee, already reeling from police shootings, spent last Friday night and Saturday morning watching live streams from the Turkish cities of Istanbul and Ankara.Tanks filled with soldiers rolled through the streets.