An Istanbul court on Wednesday arrested Ece Sevim Öztürk, a journalist known for her investigative reporting on a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, the Hürriyet daily reported.
Öztürk, who was referred to court after 13 days’ detention, was arrested for “aiding the Gülen movement.”
Also the editor-in-chief of the Çağdaşses news website, Öztürk was detained by İstanbul police on June 8 on allegations of spreading “terrorist propaganda,” a reference to her recent reporting, including a documentary on the coup.
According to state of emergency measures, police can keep a “terror suspect” in custody for seven days, which was reduced from the previous 30 days by a government decree in 2017.
The Çağdaşses news website published an article on Öztürk’s detention, accusing the nationalist website OdaTV and pro-government Yeni Şafak daily of targeting her.
Öztürk’s reporting on the coup attracted much attention on social media and was quoted by several news outlets in Turkey.
Critics of Öztürk claimed her news bites have been “acquitting” the Gülen movement, which was accused of masterminding the coup attempt by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and nationalists.