It is not business as usual when the editors of a leading newspaper and a television station are detained on the basis of a politically-motivated investigation in a democratic country.

The detention of journalists and the manner of detention, particularly if it is of those with an opposing view, overshadows the reasons behind the detention.

Furthermore, if the relationship between the judiciary and the political wing is strained in a country, and if the judiciary has become a tool of political intervention, -- with a plethora of instances that could be cited as examples – it will result in this shadow that is cast being replaced by serious doubts in both domestic and international public opinion.

The detention of Ekrem Dumanlı, Hidayet Karaca and his colleagues on Sunday, coupled with the manner in which the detentions were carried out, and the prevailing belief that these detentions will result in formal arrests has resulted in exactly such a situation.

Dumanlı and Karaca are journalists…

However, they are simultaneously also active members of the Fethullah Gülen-led community and hold executive positions in his media outlets…

Regardless of the extent to which the Gülen group ignores the presence of opponents of the AK Parti (Justice and Development Party) in its ranks, they comprise a group that operates illegally and has become ensconced within the state. A sort of group that could be classified as an Opus Dei…

The political leadership has initiated action against this group and has placed all the mechanisms available to the state on alert in this regard. Various investigations, attempts to purge the security apparatus and judiciary of active members of the community, and efforts to expose them, keep following one after the other.

The detention of executives from the Zaman newspaper and the Samanyolu television station can also be seen as being part of this process, when the other side of the coin is considered.

That means we are faced with a double-edged sword.

It is clear for anyone who is right in their mind to see that the actions of the Gülen community and the way that it has organized within the state apparatus, contradict every single principle of a state of law, cause a serious problem for democracy, and form one of the fundamental factors behind the system becoming more authoritarian and the state’s actions becoming arbitrary.

On the other hand, stretching the limits of the law and democracy while fighting this structure, is a situation that is just as unacceptable as the structure itself. In the end it results in similar damage being inflicted on the state of law and democracy.

The changes made to the law on the HSYK (Supreme Board of Prosecutors and Judges), and the precautions taken with regard to Bank Asya are all indicators of the damage inflicted. The risk arises of extraordinary measures being turned into routine and permanent measures.

It becomes essential to place this latest operation within this context, and put it down to both sides of this two-fold authoritarian pressure.

From this perspective, the inclusion of television show scriptwriters in the investigation is wrong in every sense, whether it be political, symbolic or legal; regardless of the validity of the manner in which this investigation is being conducted. It leads to the belief that freedoms are being targeted rather than merely being limited to holding to personal liability those guilty or allegedly guilty.

However, the emergence of such a picture does not mean that the issue can be reduced to a stance and statements along the lines of “operation to suppress the opposition,” “revenge for exposing corruption,” or “the race toward dictatorship,” which has been the predominant thought when it comes to public opinion in the West and among the segment opposed to the AK Parti in Turkey.

The community made use of its members in the police force and in the security apparatus to attain its own goals and promote its own interests in cases such as Balyoz and Ergenekon. By adding false and fabricated evidence to genuine clues, it strengthened its hand in the judiciary and converted it into a tool to settle scores.

The community made use of its members in the police force and in the security apparatus to target those who recognized its role and criticized it by labeling them post Ergenekon. It had them arrested on the basis of false evidence and charges, and instigated a mental witch hunt against them.

The community made use of its members in the police force and in the security apparatus in an attempt to create alternative policies in regard to Turkey’s Kurdish problem and similar issues. It even shaped the operations against the KCK (Kurdish Communities Union.)

The community made use of its members in the police force and in the security apparatus in an attempt to settle scores with the government. It carried out an operation on Feb. 7, 2012, and then on Dec. 17 and 25, 2013, it attempted to topple the leadership by resorting to the corruption dossiers it had accumulated and by disseminating the contents of the wiretaps it had placed illegally for years.

The community made use of its members in the police force and in the security apparatus to place illegal wiretaps on thousands of people in order to establish control over the system.

The community’s media had become the center from where the shaping of public opinion was undertaken with regard to all these actions.

Can there be any doubt that, at the very least, a problem of ethics and political mores exists?