Police official have extended their crackdown to the media as they raided the offices of Zaman, one of the well-known circulating newspapers in the country, and arrested editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanli over free speech.

There have been raids over 13 provinces in Turkey that targeted 31 journalists. This is due to the long-standing battle between Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the AK Party, and the Fethullah Gülen's opposition Islamic Social Movement.

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Gülen is a self-imposed exile in the United States and is an Islamic preacher. He is linked to the Zaman and the Samanyolu Media Group. The head of the Samanyolu Media Group, Hidayet Karaca, was also arrested during the said crackdown.

The arrests have been slammed by the Human Rights Watch, saying it is another attempt to crack down the critical media in the country and is suggested as a coup plot. The prosecutors in Istanbul pointed out that those who were detained because directed an armed terror group and were guilty of forgery and slander.

However, for the journalists and the supporters of the above-mentioned Gülen movement, the charges are not at all politically smeared but is fueled by the goal to intimidate the media and to silence them.

A Zaman photojournalist identified as Mühenna Kahveci said that journalists are becoming more afraid each passing day. However, there are still hundreds of people protesting and holding signs saying that the free media cannot be silenced. The photojournalist added that being a reporter in the country will make one uncertain of what will happen of him or her if he or she reports critically.

The protests have been happening in front of the police station. Riot police were deployed in the area wearing helmets and armored suits and surrounding the police station 20 yards away.

The arrests were first exposed on Twitter and it came just days before the one year anniversary that marks the start of the investigation launched to find out about corruption and bribery allegations against the party of Erdogan. 

TagsTurkey, media ban, arrest, free speech, Zaman, coup, media crackdown