Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for the owner and three employees of an opposition newspaper, a police source and the paper said on Friday, part of a continuing media crackdown that has alarmed rights groups and Turkey&#39;s Western allies.

The four are accused of committing crimes on behalf of the network of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, they said. Gulen is blamed by Ankara for masterminding last July&#39;s failed coup against President Tayyip Erdogan, a charge he denies.

Turkish police carried out searches at the homes of the owner and the three employees of Sozcu newspaper, which is fiercely critical of Erdogan and his ruling AK Party, and also detained the paper&#39;s internet editor, the police source said.

The paper&#39;s owner is currently abroad, he added.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said the charges against the four suspects included planning &quot;the assassination of the President and physical assault&quot; and &quot;armed rebellion against the government of the Turkish Republic&quot;.

Metin Yilmaz, editor-in-chief of the secularist, nationalist Sozcu, confirmed the police raids but denied the accusations, saying his paper had long criticised Gulen and his supporters.

&quot;The only thing we do is journalism. But doing that in this country is a crime in itself,&quot; he said in a statement published on the paper&#39;s web site. &quot;Writing the truth, criticising and doing stories are all crimes.&quot;

The investigation drew sharp criticism from Turkey&#39;s main opposition party CHP. Its leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said the probe was &quot;unacceptable&quot;, while senior CHP lawmaker Ozgur Ozel said it aimed to silence all dissent.

Jailing journalists&nbsp;

Since the failed coup, Turkish authorities have shut more than 130 media outlets and a press union says more than 150 journalists have been jailed, raising concerns about media freedom in a country that aspires to join the European Union.

The arrest warrants for Sozcu came days after a court jailed the online editor of another opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, pending trial, on a charge of spreading terrorist propaganda.

Around a dozen journalists from the paper, long a pillar of Turkey&#39;s old secularist establishment, are already in jail facing sentences of up to 43 years in prison, accused of supporting Gulen&#39;s network.

Turkey has also suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants and has arrested nearly 50,000 others suspected of links to the Gulen movement.

Turkish officials say the crackdown is necessary because the Gulen movement had set up a &quot;state within a state&quot; that threatened national security. They point to the gravity of last July&#39;s coup, when rogue troops commandeered warplanes to bomb parliament and used tanks to kill 240 people.

But Erdogan&#39;s critics in Turkey and abroad say he is using the coup to purge opponents and muzzle dissent. Last month he narrowly won a referendum that grants him sweeping new powers.

(Reuters)

The four suspects have face prison time for planning 'assassination' of the President and 'armed rebellion against the government'Turkey coup

Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for the owner and three employees of an opposition newspaper, a police source and the paper said on Friday, part of a continuing media crackdown that has alarmed rights groups and Turkey's Western allies. The four are accused of committing crimes on behalf of the network of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, they said. Gulen is blamed by Ankara for masterminding last July's failed coup against President Tayyip Erdogan, a charge he denies. Turkish police carried out searches at the homes of the owner and the three employees of Sozcu newspaper, which is fiercely critical of Erdogan and his ruling AK Party, and also detained the paper's internet editor, the police source said. The paper's owner is currently abroad, he added. The state-run Anadolu news agency said the charges against the four suspects included planning "the assassination of the President and physical assault" and "armed rebellion against the government of the Turkish Republic". Metin Yilmaz, editor-in-chief of the secularist, nationalist Sozcu, confirmed the police raids but denied the accusations, saying his paper had long criticised Gulen and his supporters. "The only thing we do is journalism. But doing that in this country is a crime in itself," he said in a statement published on the paper's web site. "Writing the truth, criticising and doing stories are all crimes." The investigation drew sharp criticism from Turkey's main opposition party CHP. Its leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said the probe was "unacceptable", while senior CHP lawmaker Ozgur Ozel said it aimed to silence all dissent. Jailing journalists Since the failed coup, Turkish authorities have shut more than 130 media outlets and a press union says more than 150 journalists have been jailed, raising concerns about media freedom in a country that aspires to join the European Union. The arrest warrants for Sozcu came days after a court jailed the online editor of another opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, pending trial, on a charge of spreading terrorist propaganda. Around a dozen journalists from the paper, long a pillar of Turkey's old secularist establishment, are already in jail facing sentences of up to 43 years in prison, accused of supporting Gulen's network. Turkey has also suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants and has arrested nearly 50,000 others suspected of links to the Gulen movement. Turkish officials say the crackdown is necessary because the Gulen movement had set up a "state within a state" that threatened national security. They point to the gravity of last July's coup, when rogue troops commandeered warplanes to bomb parliament and used tanks to kill 240 people. But Erdogan's critics in Turkey and abroad say he is using the coup to purge opponents and muzzle dissent. Last month he narrowly won a referendum that grants him sweeping new powers. (Reuters)

Erdogan's Turkey targets opposition newspaper staffers over suspected coup links

Turkish authorities have dismissed more than 10,000 civil servants over their suspected links with U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the failed coup in July.

Thousands of academics, teachers and health workers were among those removed through a new emergency rule decree published on the Official Gazette late on Saturday while 15 media outlets, almost all of which reported from the largely Kurdish southeast, were shut down.

Through the decrees, elections to choose a rector at the universities have also been abolished. President Tayyip Erdogan will directly appoint the rectors from the candidates nominated by the High Educational Board (YOK).

Turkey has formally arrested more than 37,000 people and has already sacked or suspended 100,000 civil servants, judges, prosecutors, police and others in an unprecedented crackdown the government says is necessary to root out all supporters of Gulen from the state apparatus and key positions.

A state of emergency imposed right after the bloody failed coup in July has been extended for another three months until January after Erdogan said the authorities needed more time to eradicate the threat posed by Gulen&#39;s network as well as Kurdish militants who have waged a 32-year insurgency.

The total number of media outlets shut down since the start of the state of emergency has now exceeded 160.

The extent of the crackdown has worried rights groups and some Western allies, who fear Erdogan is using it to curtail dissent. The government says the actions are justified by the threat to the state on July 15, when more than 240 people died.

Ankara wants the United States to detain and extradite Gulen so that he can be prosecuted in Turkey on a charge that he masterminded the attempt to overthrow the government. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies any involvement.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

Thousands of academics, teachers and health workers were among those removed through a new decree; 15 media outlets were shut down as well

Turkish authorities have dismissed more than 10,000 civil servants over their suspected links with U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the failed coup in July. Thousands of academics, teachers and health workers were among those removed through a new emergency rule decree published on the Official Gazette late on Saturday while 15 media outlets, almost all of which reported from the largely Kurdish southeast, were shut down. Through the decrees, elections to choose a rector at the universities have also been abolished. President Tayyip Erdogan will directly appoint the rectors from the candidates nominated by the High Educational Board (YOK). Turkey has formally arrested more than 37,000 people and has already sacked or suspended 100,000 civil servants, judges, prosecutors, police and others in an unprecedented crackdown the government says is necessary to root out all supporters of Gulen from the state apparatus and key positions. A state of emergency imposed right after the bloody failed coup in July has been extended for another three months until January after Erdogan said the authorities needed more time to eradicate the threat posed by Gulen's network as well as Kurdish militants who have waged a 32-year insurgency. The total number of media outlets shut down since the start of the state of emergency has now exceeded 160. The extent of the crackdown has worried rights groups and some Western allies, who fear Erdogan is using it to curtail dissent. The government says the actions are justified by the threat to the state on July 15, when more than 240 people died. Ankara wants the United States to detain and extradite Gulen so that he can be prosecuted in Turkey on a charge that he masterminded the attempt to overthrow the government. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies any involvement. (Reuters)

Turkey: More than 10,000 civil servants fired for suspected links with coup plotter

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Erdogan's Turkey targets opposition newspaper staffers over suspected coup links

Turkey: More than 10,000 civil servants fired for suspected links with coup plotter