The European Union and United States are criticizing Turkey for arresting 34 journalists, media executives, and even the screenwriter of a popular TV show on charges of “forming, leading and being a member of an armed terrorist organization”.  Those detained are linked to the political opposition.

The press freedom group “The Committee to Protect Journalists” condemned the raids.  Among those detained today were Ekrem Dumanli, editor-in-chief of Zaman, Turkey’s largest daily newspaper;  and Hidayet Karaca, chairman of the Samanyolu Broadcast Group. 

Zaman and Samanyolu have close ties to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who was once a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but now lives in exile in the United States.  Erdogan accuses his former friend of running a “parallel state” within Turkey.

“The detention of journalists and editors in the context of this latest, wider operation of arrests looks like another attempt to crack down on critical media,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, a senior researcher on Turkey with Human Rights Watch.  “The burden is on the government to produce evidence to justify accusing Zaman and Samanyolu group editors and journalists of being part of an organization which attempted to capture state power, as the Istanbul judge’s detention warrant states.”

European Union Foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn released a statement blasting the arrests as “incompatible with the freedom of media, which is a core principle of democracy”.

They continued, “We expect that the principle of presumption of innocence will prevail and recall the inalienable right for an independent and transparent investigation,” and noted that Turkey’s chances of being admitted into the EU depends on “full respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights”.