Turkey expands purge, shuts down news outlets
The New York Times
ISTANBUL — The Turkish government ordered the closing of more than 100 media outlets on Wednesday, including newspapers, publishing companies and television channels, as part of a sweeping crackdown following a failed military coup this month.
The Turkish authorities ordered the shutdown of 45 newspapers, three news agencies, 16 television channels, 15 magazines and 29 publishers in a decree that was published in the government’s official gazette Wednesday.
Among those ordered to close are the newspaper Zaman and the Cihan News Agency, which had previously been seized by the government over suspicions that it has links to the network of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania and has been accused of orchestrating the July 15 coup attempt.
Mr. Gulen’s network has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to purge followers of the movement from state institutions, including the police and the judiciary.
In response to the botched coup, the government has purged tens of thousands of soldiers, police officers, journalists, teachers and government employees accused of having ties to the Gulen organization.
More than 9,000 people have been arrested in connection with the coup attempt, and thousands more have been detained, the semiofficial Anadolu News Agency reported. Nearly 90 reporters and columnists have been ordered detained this week, a decision the rights group Amnesty International called a “brazen attack on press freedom.”
Before that day’s shutdown orders, prosecutors Wednesday issued detention orders for nearly 50 journalists and media figures tied to the Zaman newspaper, which was shut down at the request of local prosecutors in March. Forty-two journalists and columnists from various media outlets were also ordered detained Monday.
Human rights groups have criticized Turkey for detaining so many journalists and have accused the government of using the failed coup as a pretext to silence critical journalists.
“Journalists should not pay the price for military officers’ unlawful attempt to overthrow the government,” said Nina Ognianov, the coordinator of the Europe and Central Asia program of the Committee to Protect Journalists. “We call on Turkish authorities to stop imprisoning journalists for their views.”
Turkish officials say that the detention of journalists is not related to their professional activities, but to possible criminal conduct.
Last week, Mr. Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency, allowing the Turkish authorities to detain suspects without charges for up to 30 days. Under Article 25 of the state of emergency act, journalists who spread or convey “false or exaggerated news with intent to create panic among the public” can face punishments of three months to a year in jail.
More than 1,000 members of the Turkish military, including 127 generals and 32 admirals, were also dismissed as a result of the decree published under the state of emergency late Wednesday. They have been accused of having connections to Mr. Gulen.