The Turkish government is being criticized at home and by the international community for clamping down on various media outlets that resulted in 23 people being detained on serious charges after negative coverage of President Tayyip Erdogan.
The detainees - including journalists, TV producers, scriptwriters and a police chief – have been linked to prominent Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who was once a staunch political supporter of Erdogan, but turned against him amid a corruption investigation of the president.
Those arrested in the recent raids across the country are being accused of forming an illegal terrorist organization, slander, fabricating evidence, and trying to seize control of the state.
Gulen – who is currently living in self-exile in Pennsylvania – heads an Islamic movement called Hizmet (Service), which has no formal organization or membership, but is estimated to have millions of followers in Turkey and possibly millions more elsewhere. Most of the group’s supporters tend to be students, academics, businessmen and journalists.
Erdogan has accused Hizmet of trying to bring down his presidency, accusing the group of orchestrating corruption allegations that forced four cabinet ministers to resign last year. He wants to extradite Gulen from the U.S. to face charges.
The arrests of the media representatives has been harshly criticized by major industry figures - among them Samanyolu Broadcasting Group President Hidayet Karaca. “Here’s the attitude toward an international media group with dozens of television stations, dozens of publications, dozens of radio stations not only at home, but also abroad. This is a shameful scene, now marked in our country’s history,” he said.
The U.S. State Department also reacted to the detentions, urging Turkish authorities to take action to protect the media under its constitution. The E.U. – which Turkey has petitioned to join – criticized the media arrests as “incompatible” with freedom of the press.
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