Turkey issues warrants for 47 ex-staff of Zaman daily

AFP, ANKARA: Turkey issued arrest warrants Wednesday for 47 former staff of the Zaman newspaper, an official said, in a growing crackdown on citizens suspected of links to alleged coup mastermind Fethullah Gulen.
The official, declining to be named, said the swoop covers “executives and some staff including columnists”, describing Zaman as the “flagship media organisation” of the movement led by Gulen, a US-based preacher.
In March, Zaman and its sister English-language newspaper Today’s Zaman were taken over by state-appointed administrators and it has since taken a strongly pro-government line. The official insisted the warrants were not related to what individual columnists had previously said or written.
But “prominent employees of Zaman are likely to have intimate knowledge of the Gulen network and as such could benefit the investigation”, the official explained.
In the attempted coup of July 15, renegade soldiers sought to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but were stopped by crowds of civilians and loyalist security forces. At least 270 people were killed on both sides.

Turkey issues warrants for 47 ex-staff of Zaman daily

AFP, ANKARA: Turkey issued arrest warrants Wednesday for 47 former staff of the Zaman newspaper, an official said, in a growing crackdown on citizens suspected of links to alleged coup mastermind Fethullah Gulen. The official, declining to be named, said the swoop covers executives and some staff including columnists, describing Zaman as the flagship media organisation of the movement led by Gulen, a US-based preacher. In March, Zaman and its sister English-language newspaper Todays Zaman were taken over by state-appointed administrators and it has since taken a strongly pro-government line. The official insisted the warrants were not related to what individual columnists had previously said or written. But prominent employees of Zaman are likely to have intimate knowledge of the Gulen network and as such could benefit the investigation, the official explained. In the attempted coup of July 15, renegade soldiers sought to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but were stopped by crowds of civilians and loyalist security forces. At least 270 people were killed on both sides.