ISTANBUL, Turkey, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Turkish authorities raided a TV station and newspaper headquarters Sunday, arresting two dozen media personnel linked to a rival of the president.
The Zamat newspaper and Samanyolu TV channel both have ties to Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric and one-time ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After allegations of corruption were leveled last year at Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time, he blamed Gulen and his supporters, characterizing the charges as a conspiracy to overthrow the government. Gulen denied the accusations.
Considered the spiritual leader of the Hizmet movement, Gulen has lived in the U.S. since 1999.
Erdogan said Friday he would go after Gulen's supporters "in their lairs."
Turkish police raided the respective headquarters of Zamat and Samanyolu, arresting roughly 24 journalists, screenwriters and producers. A police chief in eastern Turkey was also detained.
The prisoners stand accused of illegally forming an organization and plotting to the seize control of the country.
European Union leaders have sharply denounced the arrests. Federica Mogherini, EU foreign affairs chief and commissioner heading talks about expansion of the Union, said the detentions were "against European values."
Turkey applied to join the European Economic Community, the predecessor to the EU, in 1987. It was declared eligible to join the EU in 1997, and negotiations over the matter have been ongoing since 2005.
