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Ekrem Dumanli, editor-in-chief of the Zaman newspaper, waves to staff members while being arrested in Istanbul. Photograph: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images

Turkish police have detained at least 23 people in orchestrated raids on opposition media outlets with close ties to the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Glen, a key critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdoan.

The raids came days after Erdoan announced a fresh operation against supporters of Glen, a former ally whom Erdoan accuses of having established a parallel organisation an influential network within state institutions such as the police and judiciary as well as within the media that aims to overthrow the Justice and Development party (AKP) government. Glen denies the charge.

The detained, including journalists, producers, scriptwriters, directors, police officers and two former police chiefs, are accused of forming an illegal organisation whose members engage in forgery and slander, according to a statement published by the Istanbul public prosecutors office.

During one raid a crowd of supporters assembled at the offices of the Zaman daily and chanted: The free press cannot be silenced. The newspapers editor-in-chief, Ekrem Dumanli, gave a defiant speech, widely publicised in Turkish media, in which he challenged police to arrest him. He was detained, as was the head of the Samanyolu Media Group, Hidayet Karaca.

This is a shameful sight for Turkey, Karaca told the press before he was seized by police. Sadly this is how they treat a media group with tens of television and radio stations, internet media and magazines in 21st-century Turkey.

The head of the main opposition Republican Peoples party (CHP), Kemal Kilidarolu, called the raids a coup against democracy and accused the AKP of leading a coup government.

[This] is not something that happens in healthy democracies. This is a coup process, Kilidarolu said. Detentions of journalists and dawn raids on television stations are not something we can accept under any circumstances.

Turkeys prime minister, Ahmet Davutolu, called the raids a test. This is the day of the test. Everyone will be held accountable for what they have done, and for their attitude toward democracy in this country, he said in an address to members of the AKP in eastern Turkey.

The power and influence of Glen and his network has long been a defining issue of Turkish politics. The domination of Erdogans AKP for more than a decade was aided by his alliance with Glen, and those who dared to criticise the Glen movement were swiftly punished.

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Turkish police arrest 23 in raids on opposition media