17 journalists have been remanded in custody at a court in Istanbul

As Turkey continues its purge on press freedom, 17 journalists have been remanded in custody at a court in Istanbul. 

Arrest warrants for dozens of others were issued earlier this week. 

Mahir Zeynalov, a Washington-based correspondent for Today's Zaman, who was exiled from Turkey for his work two years ago, tweeted images of Turkish journalists being arrested on Friday.

This comes as the European Union labelled the crackdown on media in Turkey 'worrying' and warned Ankara to respect fundamental freedoms.

On Monday Turkish authorities issued warrants for the detention of dozens of journalists suspected of links to the alleged organizers of a failed military uprising, intensifying concerns that a sweeping crackdown on alleged coup plotters could target media for any news coverage critical of the government.

While the Turkish government said it is investigating the journalists for possible criminal conduct rather than their reporting, critics warned that a state of emergency imposed after the July 15 coup attempt poses a threat to freedom of expression.

'We fear there will be a witch hunt which would include journalists known as 'critical' against the government. 

'Because they are putting all journalists into one bag,' said Ahmet Abakay, president of the Progressive Journalists' Association, a media group based in the Turkish capital Ankara. 

He said the situation was 'very dangerous for every journalist' and that government warnings to reporters to be careful would lead to self-censorship.

'By rounding up journalists, the government is failing to make a distinction between criminal acts and legitimate criticism,' said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International's deputy director for Europe. 

One journalist to be arrested was Busra Erdal, a former columnist and legal reporter for the daily Zaman newspaper, taken over by authorities in March for alleged links to Gulen's movement.

In a series of tweets, Erdal said police raided her house Monday morning and that she would head to the office of state prosecutors in Istanbul to testify. 

She said she had not committed any crime and that the only organization she is affiliated with is the Istanbul Bar Association.  

As a candidate nation for EU membership, Turkey 'needs to aspire to the highest possible democratic standard and practices, including on the freedom of the media,' said EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic. 

Kocijancic called it 'worrying that, following the entry into force of the state of emergency in Turkey, arrest warrants have been issued against a large number of journalists and a number of outlets have been shut down.'

More than 13,000 people in the military, judiciary and other institutions have been detained since the uprising, which killed about 290 people.Source:dailymail