Turkey jails 25 journos over coup links
A Turkish court has sentenced 25 journalists to jail for alleged links to a group the government blames for a failed coup attempt in July 2016.Twenty-three of them were convicted of membership of an armed terrorist organization and were given prison terms of up to seven and a half years, reports BBC.
Two were convicted on lesser charges. They mainly worked for outlets close to the group of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Ankara accuses him of heading the coup bid, which he denies.
More than 50,000 people were arrested and 150,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs in the aftermath of the failed coup on 15 July 2016. Police, military personnel, teachers and public servants were among those ensnared in the crackdown. In the most recent trial, prominent journalist Murat Aksoy and pop singer and columnist.
