Turkey: Arrest warrants issued for 42 journalists

Turkish authorities issued warrants for the detention of 42 journalists on Monday, private broadcaster NTV reported.

Well known commentator and former parliamentarian Nazli Ilicak was among those for whom a warrant was issued, NTV said.

Turkish authorities have suspended, detained or placed under investigation more than 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, teachers, civil servants and others in the week since a failed coup attempt.

Of the 13,000 people detained in the purge of people the government says were involved in the attempt, about 6,000 have been arrested, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late on Saturday.

READ MORE: Coup plotters ‘acted early’ in fear of arrests

Some 37,500 civil servants and police officers have so far been suspended, including many from the education ministry.

On Saturday, Erdogan issued a decree to close 2,341 institutions – including schools, charities, unions and medical centres.

The decree, which local media noted as being the first taken under the powers of a recently-declared state of emergency, also extended the legal time a person can be detained to 30 days.

The rapid pace of arrests has drawn criticism from many of Turkey’s Western allies, who say they see the country going down an increasingly authoritarian road.