Hundreds of Turkish journalists protest crackdown

Hundreds of journalists have protested the detention of reporters that the authorities allege were involved in an attempt to bring the government down.

The journalists, joined by members of some non-governmental organizations, gathered in Istanbul's Taksim Square on Sunday to protest arrests of seven journalists earlier this month.

They shouted anti-government slogans and carried banners that read: "Turkey: set journalists free."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied that he has tried to silence the media after Western governments and international media rights groups voiced concern over the case of journalists, jailed over links to an alleged conspiracy to bring the government down in 2003.