Turkey: New warrant issued for Cumhuriyet executive

By Muhammed Enes Can

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court on Tuesday issued a further arrest warrant for the chief executive of a Turkish newspaper after initial searches on Monday failed to locate him.

Judicial sources speaking anonymously said the Istanbul court called for the arrest of the Cumhuriyet daily’s chief executive, Akin Atalay.

On Monday, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's office issued arrest warrants for 13 Cumhuriyet journalists and executives, including Atalay.

Police did not find Atalay at his home and he is reported to be abroad.

Eleven journalists including the editor-in-chief, Murat Sabuncu, were arrested in Ankara and Istanbul.

The suspects are accused of committing crimes on the behalf of terrorist groups, namely the PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, or FETO which, Turkey says, is behind of July 15 coup attempt that martyred 241 people and wounded 2,200 others.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, more than 700 security force members have been martyred and around 8,000 PKK terrorists killed or apprehended.