Turkey orders detention of 47 more journalists

“Today’s detentions cover executives and some staff including columnists of (the now defunct) Zaman newspaper, the Gulen movement’s flagship media organisation,” 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.