Turkey Targets Media In New Crackdown After Coup

ANKARA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th july, 2016) - Turkish authorities on Monday issued arrest warrants for over 40 journalists in a new phase of a controversial legal crackdown after the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that has alarmed the West. With Erdogan seeking to rally national cross-party support for his rule 10 days after defeating the attempted putsch, he hosted two top opposition leaders for an unprecedented meeting at his presidential palace. Over 13,000 people have been detained so far in a vast sweep in the wake of the July 15 military coup bid, which the authorities blame on the reclusive US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.

The crackdown has raised tensions with the European Union, further hampering Ankara's stalled membership bid, while a potential diplomatic crisis with Washington is looming if the United States refuses to extradite Gulen to Turkey, a fellow NATO member. Istanbul anti-terror prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 42 journalists as part of the coup investigation, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.