Turkey detained on Friday the head of the board of opposition daily Cumhuriyet, which saw nine of its staff arrested last week, the newspaper said.

Akin Atalay was taken into custody at Istanbul's airport after arriving from Germany, Cumhuriyet said.

Nine of the paper's staff, including its current editor-in-chief, were sent behind bars at the weekend pending trial after raids that have added to growing international alarm about media freedoms in Turkey.