Turkish Journalists, police charged with terrorism

The raid in 12 provinces of Turkey last Sunday that led to the detention of journalists and several police officers is being described as state ‘paranoia’. An Istanbul court on Friday released eight of the 12 suspects, including the Chief Editor of the national Zaman Newspaper, Ekrem Dumanli. Four individuals were remanded in custody, among them Hidayet Karaca – the head of national television channel Samanyolu – on charges of founding and managing a terrorist organization. Three senior police officers were also charged with membership in a terrorist organization.
Both, the Zaman Newspaper and Samanyolu TV channel are linked to Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish figure who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has on numerous occasions said Gulen and his movement followers have infiltrated the government and formed a parallel state, whom the president accuses of fomenting a plot to overthrow the state. An Istanbul prosecutor on Friday requested an arrest warrant for Gulen on charges of leading a terrorist organization. Following harsh criticism by the US and the EU regarding Turkey’s crackdown on the opposition media, Erdogan said the issue is of national security, and that Turkey doesn’t need lessons in democracy. The Committee to Protect Journalists ranks Turkey as the 10th most dangerous country for journalists while the Reporters Without Borders lists Turkey at 154th of 180 countries in the press freedom index. Critics say the arrest of journalists is an assault on freedom of expression, and that they are supporting a struggle between the oppressed and the oppressor.