Turkey issues warrants for 42 journalists
ANKARA, TURKEY— Turkey issued warrants on Monday for the detention of 42 journalists suspected of links to the alleged organizers of a failed military uprising, intensifying concerns that a sweeping crackdown on alleged coup plotters could target media for any news coverage critical of the government.
Although the Turkish government said it is investigating the journalists for possible criminal conduct rather than their reporting, critics warned that a state of emergency imposed after the July15 coup attempt poses a threat to freedom of expression.
“We fear there will be a witch hunt which would include journalists known as ‘critical’ against the government.
Because they are putting all journalists into one bag,” said Ahmet Abakay, president of the Progressive Journalists’ Association.
He said the situation was “very dangerous for every journalist” and that government warnings to reporters to be careful would lead to self-censorship.
“By rounding up journalists, the government is failing to make a distinction between criminal acts and legitimate criticism,” said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Europe.
More than13,000 people in the military, judiciary and other institutions have been detained since the uprising, which killed about 290 people. In the latest purge, Turkish Airlines, the national carrier, said it has terminated the contracts of 221 employees.
It said the contracts were ended for problems including conduct contrary to the national interest, such as “sponsoring” the movement of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric accused by Turkey of fomenting the insurrection. Those fired included seven people in managerial positions and 15 pilots, according to the private Turkish news agency Dogan.
Also Monday, security forces caught seven fugitive soldiers accused of raiding a hotel in the resort town of Marmaris shortly after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan left it on the night of July 15, bringing the number of those detained to 25, the state-run Anadolu news reported.