Turkey arrests 'Cumhuriyet' editor
May 16, 2017
Turkey has formally arrested Oguz Guven, the editor of the online edition of opposition newspaper "Cumhuriyet," for allegedly spreading "terrorist propaganda," Turkish media have reported.
Guven, who was detained on Friday, was arrested on Monday as legally responsible for the newspaper's tweets, in particular one on the death of prosecutor Mustafa Alper in a traffic accident last week, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
Anadolu said the tweet, now deleted, had used sensationalist wording and ran counter to news principles.
Alper filed the first indictment against the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen following last July's coup attempt, which triggered a huge crackdown by Ankara against alleged Gulen followers. Anadolu said Guven's arrest was part of an investigation into a campaign including on social media to discredit those fighting against Gulen's movement.
Read: Turkey's journalists under siege
Mass arrests
Twelve other journalists at Cumhuriyet - including the paper's current editor in chief Murat Sabuncu, veteran commentator Kadri Gursel and cartoonist Musa Kart - and other senior staff members have also been arrested and are awaiting their trials, accused of "aiding terrorist organizations."
They could face prison sentences of up to 43 years if found guilty of supporting Gulen's network.
Cumhuriyet's former editor-in-chief, Can Dundar, was last year handed a five-year-and-10-month jail term and has now fled Turkey for Germany. He was charged over a front-page story accusing the government of sending weapons to Syria.
Turkey on Monday ordered the arrest of 85 more officials, reportedly from the education and energy ministries, as it continues its draconian crackdown, with thousands of public officials sacked or arrested since the failed coup.
tj/jm (Reuters, AP, AFP)