Arrest warrants issued for 42 journalists in Turkey

Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for 42 journalists, state-run news agency Anadolu has reported.

The military coup which captivated headlines earlier this month has led to a veritable purge of the country's democratic institutions, and it has now spread to the media.

According to international reports, Turkey has cracked down on agencies and individuals suspected of having ties to cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames for masterminding the July 15 attempted coup. Gulen, a longtime rival of Erdogan, lives in self-imposed exile in the United States.

CNN reports that an official from Erdogan's office said prosecutors had requested the journalists' arrest "to shed light on the coup plot."

"Obviously this isn't related to journalistic activities but possible criminal conduct," the official told CNN.

Andalou reported that a prominent Turkish journalist and writer, Nazli Ilicak, is among those on the list.

Some 50,000 people from the country's institutions and security forces were fired or suspended last week in the follow up to the coup, including judges, teachers, police and journalists, with some journalists insisting they are being intimidated by officials.

Turkish satirical magazine LeMan, often compared to France's Charlie Hebdo, said the government had prevented it -- via a court order -- from publishing its edition following the coup, adding it was also facing other threats.

The issue of LeMan that was banned from publication featured a cartoon on the cover of Turkish soldiers facing off against anti-coup protesters, pushed toward each other by giant hands.

When the cover was tweeted ahead of its publication, protestors gathered at the magazine's offices, saying, "don't you know what happened to Charlie Hebdo?" said CNN's Ian Lee, a reference to the 2015 gun attacks on the French satirists' office, which killed 11 journalists.

CNN reports that the roundup of suspected coup plotters is not the only government response to the uprising. A new presidential decree issued following the attempted coup, stipulates that suspects can be detained for 30 days without charge and the government can listen in on all conversations they have with their lawyers.

A three-month state of emergency declaration issued Thursday grants Erdogan new sweeping powers to implement the detention measures.