The state of arrested journalists and writers in Turkey

On a live TV show on Oct. 22, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said his government was preparing for a new decree in the force of law (KHK) in order to return those dismissed from their public jobs "by mistake" in the wake of the probes after the military coup attempt in Turkey on July 15.

It is likely that following the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) conference in Afyon over the weekend, the issue could be on the agenda of the cabinet today on Oct. 24.

This is a positive step for acknowledging and correcting the mistakes in probes. Mass dismissals and arrests were indeed among the major criticisms of the probes to investigate the bloody coup attempt in which 242 people were killed by the plotters.

Another major topic of criticism of the period following the coup attempt is the state of arrested journalists and writers. 

On Oct. 18, at the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair, one of the biggest in the world, a letter from novelist Aslı Erdoğan was read out. Today is the 67th day of her arrest. She is not indicted yet, so nobody knows what the accusations are, but they probably have nothing to do with the coup attempt.

The government (also the opposition) and the prosecutors have been accusing Fethullah Gülen, the Islamist preacher living in the United States, and his secret network of being behind the plot. Aslı Erdoğan is an internationally renowned novelist writing columns for daily Özgür Gündem, which was closed down after July 15 as part of the state of emergency because of its publications in praise of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has committed acts of terror.

Two senior journalists, Lale Kemal and Nuriye (Akman) Ural were released on Oct. 12; they were writing for Zaman,...