Turkey issues arrest warrants for 47 journalists of Zaman dailyJuly 27, 2016 - 16:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey ordered another 47 journalists detained on Wednesday, July 27, a government official said, part of a widening crackdown on supporters of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Ankara of masterminding a failed military coup, Reuters reports. "Today's detentions cover executives and some staff including columnists of (the now defunct) Zaman newspaper, the Gulen movement's flagship media organization," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters. "The prosecutors aren't interested in what individual columnists wrote or said. At this point, the reasoning is that prominent employees of Zaman are likely to have intimate knowledge of the Gulen network and as such could benefit the investigation." Critics of President Tayyip Erdogan argue he is using the failed July 15-16 coup as a pretext to muzzle dissent and tighten his grip on power. The clampdown has drawn criticism from the European Union, which Turkey aspires to join. Authorities shut down Zaman in March, part of a crackdown on suspected Gulen supporters. 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. Gulen, 75, denies involvement in the abortive coup, in which at least 246 people were killed. An ally-turned-foe of Erdogan, he had built up an extensive network of schools, charities and businesses in Turkey over decades, Reuters says. 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. In the latest wave of detentions, police raided the home of Sahin Alpay around 6 a.m. (11:00 p.m. EDT) and held him after a 2-1/2 hour search of the property in a central Istanbul district, the Dogan news agency reported. Alpay, who used to have a column in the Zaman newspaper, is a former official in Turkey's left-leaning, secularist main opposition CHP party. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Yeremyan Projects opens state-of-the-art dairy production plant Yeremyan Projects officially launched the Yeremyan Products state-of-the-art milk processing plant in Yerevan on May 24. Armenian PM’s helicopter makes emergency landing in Vanadzor The helicopter transporting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made an emergency landing in Vanadzor. Lavrov says envoys “periodically” summoned for consultations Sergei Lavrov has commented Moscow’s summoning of Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin. Russian Ambassador to Armenia summoned to Moscow for consultations Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin has been summoned to Moscow for consultations. |