"The scale of this rout of the media is staggering," Ognianova stated. "Instead of channelling the overwhelming support [the Turkish government] has received from across the political spectrum to unite the nation, the government is exploiting a failed coup to silence the critical press when Turkey most needs pluralistic media."
On July 15, elements of the Turkish military attempted to topple the government, but were suppressed by the following day. Soon after the attack, Turkish authorities began a purge of numerous institutions, including of media outlets. On Wednesday, prosecutors ordered the arrest of the latest 47 journalists.
Since, numerous news websites in Turkey have been shut down at the request of the prime minister's office on the pretext of endangering national security and public order. The Turkish government reportedly revoked the licenses of 25 media outlets.
More than 13,000 people have already been detained to date, of which 10,000 were members of the Turkish military.
