Turkey: Seven Journalists Arrested, Charged With Coup Plot

On Monday, a Turkish court charged five journalists of being involved in an alleged plot to overthrow Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government.  The journalists were remanded into custody and joined two additional journalists who were also charged with involvement in the same plot on Sunday.  The seven journalists’ houses were raided by police a week ago. The arrests come amidst a protracted investigation by the Turkish government of the ultra-nationalist group Ergenekon, which the government accuses of plotting to overthrow the Islamist-rooted ruling AKP party.  The European Union and prominent human rights groups have expressed concern over the arrests as government suppression of free speech.  Interior Minister Besir Atalay responded to such charges saying: “It is an injustice that the government should be exposed to allegations of silencing the voice of the press or limiting press freedom.”