Turkish-Armenian lawmaker expresses support for jailed reporters

PanARMENIAN.Net - A Turkish lawmaker of Armenian descent, Garo Paylan has expressed support for the journalists of a Turkish opposition newspaper who were arrested months ago amid crackdown on dissenting voices following the failed coup attempt in the country.

The editor-in-chief, Murat Sabuncu, the cartoonist, Musa Kart, the paper’s lawyer and several columnists were detained in May, some following raids at their homes.

"I invite everyone to the Caglayan Judicial Palace to support the detained journalists. I will also attend the court hearing," Paylan said in a tweet.

The detentions at the left-leaning and pro-secular Cumhuriyet, one of Turkey’s oldest newspapers, came amid accusations by opposition parties and human rights groups that Turkey’s government is using the state of emergency imposed following a failed military coup in July to clamp down not only on the alleged coup plotters but on all government critics.