31 October 2016, 14:38 GMT
VIENNA (Sputnik) — The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic condemned on Monday the detention of Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief and called on the Turkish authorities to restore media freedom in the country.
"This latest wave of arrests of members of the media is yet another blow to media freedom in Turkey. The authorities should restore media freedom and safeguard a vibrant and pluralistic media landscape in the country, not take measures against it," Mijatovic said in a statement.
She added that the Turkish laws on combating terrorism were used at the moment to limit the freedom of media, which went far beyond what could be "justifiable under a state of emergency" and should be immediately reversed.
14 September 2016, 22:02 GMT
Earlier in the day, the Prosecutor's office of Istanbul announced that daily's 13 journalists and executives were suspected of having links with the organization of opposition Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), outlawed in Turkey. The editor-in-chief of one of the opposition newspapers Cumhuriyet, Murat Sabuncu was reportedly detained by police.
On July 15, a military coup attempt took place in Turkey. More than 240 Turkish citizens were killed and over 2,000 people were injured, before the rebellion was suppressed the following day.
