The Turkish government early Monday morning arrested 13 journalists as part of its continued crackdown of opponents following the failed July coup attempt.
Among those arrested were Murat Sabuncu, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Cumhuriyet, an opposition publication. A dozen others were arrested in a raid, official news agency Anadolu reported.
The journalists are accused by the Turkish government of publishing stories to “legitimize the coup d’eat” just before the July 15 coup attempt.
They have also been accused of crimes on behalf of Kurdish militants and a network linked to Fethullah Gulen, a U.S. based cleric who the Turkish government blames for the attempted coup.
The arrests come after the Turkish government fired more than 10,000 government officials over the weekend, and shut down roughly 15 media companies. Since July, more than 160 media outlets have been shut down.
Another 37,000 people have been arrested by the Turkish government. On July 20 — five days after the failed coup — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extended a state of emergency until January. The measure allows the president and his cabinet to bypass parliament and rule via decree, as well as suspend certain rights.
