Turkey orders 47 newspaper journalists, executives detained

Ankara: Turkey's state-run news agency says authorities have issued warrants for the detention of 47 former executives or senior journalists of Zaman newspaper, allegedly associated with the US-based Muslim cleric who the government says is behind Turkey's July 15 failed coup.

Anadolu Agency says at least one journalist, former Zaman columnist Sahin Alpay, was detained today. Zaman, which was linked to Fethullah Gulen's religious movement, was raided by police and seized by the government in March.

Earlier this week, warrants were issued against 42 other journalists, of whom 16 of them have been detained for questioning.

The detention of journalists and wide-scale purges of officials have raised concerns about a possible witch hunt in the wake of the violent coup attempt that killed about 290 people.