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Turkish court orders custody for 4 following raids on media affiliated with Erdogan opponent

Associated Press
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People wave national flags outside a courthouse before the release of Ekrem Dumanli, editor-in-chief of Zaman newspaper, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Dec. 19, 2014. A local court ordered the release of Dumanli six days after his detention. Police conducted raids in a dozen Turkish cities Sunday, detaining 32 people — including journalists, TV producers and police — known to be close to a movement led by a U.S.-based moderate Islamic cleric who is a strong critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was the latest crackdown on cleric Fethullah Gulen's movement, which the government has accused of orchestrating an alleged plot to try to bring it down. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

Ekrem Dumanli, editor-in-chief of Zaman newspaper, salutes cheering supporters outside a courthouse after his release in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Dec. 19, 2014. A local court ordered the release of Dumanli six days after his detention. Police conducted raids in a dozen Turkish cities Sunday, detaining 32 people — including journalists, TV producers and police — known to be close to a movement led by a U.S.-based moderate Islamic cleric who is a strong critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was the latest crackdown on cleric Fethullah Gulen's movement, which the government has accused of orchestrating an alleged plot to try to bring it down. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

Ekrem Dumanli, editor-in-chief of Zaman newspaper, salutes cheering supporters outside a courthouse after his release in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Dec. 19, 2014. A local court ordered the release of Dumanli six days after his detention. Police conducted raids in a dozen Turkish cities Sunday, detaining 32 people — including journalists, TV producers and police — known to be close to a movement led by a U.S.-based moderate Islamic cleric who is a strong critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was the latest crackdown on cleric Fethullah Gulen's movement, which the government has accused of orchestrating an alleged plot to try to bring it down. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

Turkish news reports say a court has ordered the formal arrest of four people detained in recent raids on a newspaper and a television station affiliated with the U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a one-time ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned foe.

But the court on Friday ordered the release of Ekrem Dumanli, the editor-in-chief of one of the country's biggest newspapers, Zaman. The court banned Dumanli from traveling, pending possible charges.

The investigation has been widely condemned as a blow against free press, drawing criticism from the EU and the U.S. Erdogan has lashed out at the foreign criticism.

The four men in custody are the head of a media group, the former head of the anti-terror division of the Istanbul police and two other police officials.