Pro Islamist prosecutors in Turkey have seized two leading secularist newspapers on the eve of Turkey’s parliamentary elections that are scheduled to take place Sunday, November 1. In the aftermath of the takeover, the papers have been transformed into cheerleaders for the Justice and Development Party,Turkey’s pro Islamist political party and that of Turkey’s President, Recip Erdogan.
Turkey is a deeply divided not only between its Kurdish minority and its Turkish majority, but also between secularists and Islamists. As Turkey stands at a crossroads, press freedom and freedom of speech are increasingly under fire from Muslim fundamentalists in positions of power in Turkey today.