In Turkey, where people whose responsibility are to  help the government identify its faults through means of criticism, are being branded as terrorists and jailed. Turkey's oldest daily Cumhuriyet, which is known for its secular editorial line, is facing the wrath of the government these days with several of its members now thrown behind bars.

Scribes belonging to Cumhuriyet can face upto 43 years in prison if proven guilty.

Turkey is by far the most hostile nation towards journalists, with at least 150 scribes currently spending time behind bars.

The recent case involving at least 17 journalists and managers of the opposition news outlet acts as an eye-opener.

According to critics, the witch-hunt against journalist in Turkey is fueled by political interests.

They have mostly been accused of funding terrorist organisation, a charge vehemently opposed by the accused.

One among the accused is a 71-year old editor who was in charge of looking after the book section.

His arrest has been met with criticism from his family.

"I cannot touch him. I cannot hug him," Elif Gunay, daughter of Turhan Gunay, told the BBC.

Sharing her experience, she said, "We talk over the phone behind a glass. When the time is up, they cut the line. It is so frustrating to be taken away from him every week."

Explaining her father's plight, Erin said that even after diagnosed with a serious medical condition, the authorities did not issue a bail.

Rights group and watch dogs have commented that Turkey is witnessing a new level of oppression with each passing day.

Billed as a moderate nation with secular values, Turkey is slowly cutting itself loose from its founder Kemal Ataturk's beliefs.

Ataturk envisioned a secular education system in Turkey, but the present government insists on adding Jihad to the literary syllabus, swapping it for Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

Attacking President Erdogan, his critics have said that he hates criticism and deals with the same with an iron fist.

Erdogan, the critics feel is also the reason behind Turkey witnessing a surge in Islamic values and the significant rise in Imam Hatip religious schools.

The President is also in denial about the present condition of journalism in Turkey.

Disowning the figures, in a present interview, Erdogan told the BBC that only two journalists have been jailed.

The rest he said, "are either terrorists, or they were carrying guns, or they robbed ATM machines."

Contrary to his statement, Can Dundar, previous editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper, who is living in exile in Germany told the network, "I wonder who those two journalists Mr Erdogan speaks about are."

Dundar said that though the official figure is no where close to the actual one, he feels more than 150 journalists have been held captive by the Turkey government.

Speaking about the emergency-like situation for journalists in Turkey, head of PEN Turkey, Zeynep Oral said that the present situation precedes all in terms of harshness and unpredictability.

Accusing the government of being capricious, she said, "You never know what will happen tomorrow. Anybody can put anybody into jail these days. But even if a single journalist is behind bars for no reason, no-one will ever be free in this country."

Even as the government celebrates one-year-of-failed-coup, the 'covert' mission behind it is open for everyone to see.

As Ataturk has once said, "The Press is the common voice of a nation." Erdogan sadly is finding ways to choke that voice, feel critics.

Banner Image: Wallpaper

Erdogan and Cumhuriyet image: twitter.com/cumhuriyetgzt

Can Dundar image: Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikipedia