Turkey: 47 Zaman daily ex-employees ordered detained

By Halil Demir

ISTANBUL (AA) - Istanbul prosecutors Wednesday ordered the detention of 47 former employees of Zaman, a newspaper until recently run by the Gulen group – an organization accused of being behind the July 15 deadly coup attempt.

Anti-terror police officers in Istanbul also started searching the houses of those people, who are suspected of having links to the Fetullah Terror Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETO/PDY).

Suspects include former executives of the newspaper as well as certain columnists, police said.

The paper's management was taken over by government trustees this March, when an Istanbul court decided to appoint trustees for the Feza Gazetecilik Media Group, which includes Zaman.

The company was accused of supporting FETO, headed by U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen, who has allegedly infiltrated Turkey’s state apparatus with thousands of followers in an effort to overthrow the government.

Following the failed coup, which martyred at least 246 people and left thousands of others wounded, Turkey sent the U.S. an official request for Gulen’s extradition.