Turkey targets media in new crackdown

Turkish authorities on Monday issued arrest warrants for over 40 journalists in a new phase of a controversial legal crackdown after the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that has alarmed the West.

With Erdogan seeking to rally national cross-party support for his rule 10 days after defeating the attempted putsch, he hosted two top opposition leaders for an unprecedented meeting at his presidential palace.

Over 13,000 people have been detained so far in a vast sweep in the wake of the July 15 military coup bid, which the authorities blame on the reclusive US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.

The crackdown has raised tensions with the European Union, further hampering Ankara’s stalled 

membership bid, while a potential diplomatic crisis with Washington is looming if the United States refuses to extradite Gulen to Turkey, a fellow NATO member. 

Istanbul anti-terror prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 42 journalists as part of the coup investigation, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. Among those targeted were prominent journalist Nazli Ilicak who was fired from the pro-government Sabah daily in 2013 for criticising ministers caught up in a corruption scandal, it added. Five people have been detained so far although 11 of the suspects are believed to already be outside the country, the Dogan news agency said.