Cumhuriyet newspaper's chief executive Akın Atalay detained
Reuters – 11 November 2016, Friday
Turkish police detained the chairman of opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet at İstanbul's main airport on Friday, less than a week after nine of its executives and journalists were formally arrested, the paper said.
Authorities had ordered the paper's editor and senior staff be held in jail pending trial over the secularist newspaper's alleged support for a coup attempt on July 15.
Chairman Akın Atalay was detained at the city's Ataturk Airport on his return from Germany after an arrest warrant was issued for him, Cumhuriyet said.
Since the failed putsch, more than 110,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants have been suspended or dismissed and 36,000 formally arrested in a crackdown that President Tayyip Erdoğan's critics say is quashing legitimate opposition.
Under the state of emergency declared after the coup attempt, police can detain suspects for up to 30 days before a court must decide whether to issue a formal arrest warrant pending trial.
Turkey has also closed more than 130 media outlets since July, raising concerns among its Western allies about deteriorating press freedoms.
Cumhuriyet's previous editor, Can Dündar, was jailed last year for publishing state secrets involving Turkey's support for Syriarebels. He was later released and is now overseas to avoid arrest.