Investigations have been launched into at least 25 journalists in Turkey, while four have been arrested over the past week, according to a report on the Aktif Haber news website.
The investigations into the journalists were launched due to their criticism of the Turkish military deployment in Syria, in particular after the death of 36 Turkish soldiers in an airstrike in Syria’s Idlib province on Feb. 27.
The soldiers were killed in an airstrike conducted by the Syrian regime and backed by Russia, sending shockwaves of grief across the country.
Following the tragedy, Turkish courts also imposed bans on access to some news websites that publish reports critical of the Turkish military presence in Syria.
The journalists under investigation also include some who have been covering the refugee crisis at Turkey’s border with Greece.
Turkey said last week that it would no longer prevent hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers in its territory from reaching Europe despite a deal to do so reached with the EU in 2016. Thousands of refugees have massed at the Turkish-Greek border in the hope of reaching Europe.