ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)— On May 12, Turkish police detained the editor of a leading opposition newspaper for questioning over an article he penned.
Oguz Guven, the editor of pro-secular Cumhuriyet newspaper’s online edition, tweeted on May 12, “I’m being detained.”According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, Guven was taken under custody for a news article on the death of prosecutor Mustafa Alper in a traffic accident on May 10. Details about the article in question have not been released.
Alper, chief prosecutor of Denizli province in southwest Turkey, filed the first indictment against the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen following last summer’s coup attempt, reported the Associated Press.
The Turkish government blames Gulen for organizing the coup, which he denies. Twelve journalists and senior staff members of Cumhuriyet are also behind bars pending trial on “aiding terrorist organizations.”
Cumhuriyet, known for its independent reporting, received international attention in 2015 when it reported on a fleet of Syria-bound trucks, allegedly sent by the country’s intelligence agency, carrying weapons to Syrian anti-government fighters.
For that report, Can Dundar, Cumhuriyet’s previous editor-in-chief, was sentenced to nearly six years for publishing state secrets, according to Al Jazeera.
Earlier this week, Turkish authorities raided Belge publishing house due to its alleged links to the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party Front (DHPK-C). Over 2,000 books were seized in the raid.
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