The editor-in-chief and a reporter from a Turkish newspaper were arrested late Thursday on charges of espionage after publishing a news story and photographs in the controversial intelligence trucks case.Can Dündar of Cumhuriyet daily and the newspaper's Ankara representative Erdem Gül were arrested after they were questioned by an Istanbul court over a report on the illegal search of trucks belonging to the National Intelligence Organization (MİT).The court ordered the arrest of the two men on charges of obtaining confidential information on state security for political or military espionage, exposing this information and aiding a criminal organization.The charges stem from a news story published by the daily in May about the trucks. The trucks were carrying humanitarian aid supplies to Turkmens in the Bayırbucak region of northern Syria, which have recently been targeted by the regime of Bashar al-Assad and Russia, when they were stopped under orders by prosecutors in 2014, undermining the aid operation. Footage of the operation, which was later claimed to be the work of the "parallel state" - infiltrators of the shady Gülen Movement in the police and judiciary - had drawn the ire of the government. Both military officials who launched the raid and the prosecutors who ordered it were arrested earlier this year for violating national security.The incident in 2014 caused outrage in Turkey after footage and photos showing MİT officials being handcuffed at gunpoint by troops surfaced. This prompted the government to reform its intelligence laws in an effort to avoid such situations in the future. The operation targeting the trucks is believed to be a plot hatched by the Gülen Movement in order to spark a crisis, according to critics of the movement, which is accused of illegal wiretapping, blackmail and attempting to overthrow the government. Many of the movement's followers have been detained this year as part of investigations into the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ), the official name for the criminal gang linked to the movement headed by retired preacher Fethullah Gülen.Following Friday's cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş stated that arrests in such cases should be avoided until the final decision of the court.The U.S. State Department also criticized the arrests through the statement of Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner released on Friday. "We are troubled by the pre-trial arrest yesterday of senior editors of the respected Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet. The investigation, criminal charges, and arrest raise serious concerns about the Turkish government's commitment to the fundamental principle of media freedom. These events are only the latest in a series of judicial and law enforcement actions taken under questionable circumstances against Turkish media outlets critical of the government. We call on Turkish authorities to ensure that all individuals and organizations – including but not limited to the media – are free to voice a full range of opinions and criticism, in accordance with Turkey's constitutional guarantees of media freedom and freedom of expression. This will ultimately strengthen Turkey's democracy." the statement said.