Turkish police conducted a series of home raids in İstanbul, the eastern province of Van and the southern province of Mersin on Friday, resulting in the detention of six Kurdish journalists, Turkish Minute reported.
The detainees include Reyhan Hacıoğlu, a former editor for the pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem newspaper, which was shut down via a government decree in 2016; Necla Demir, the former publisher of the news portal Gazete Karınca; Yeni Yaşam newspaper columnist Ahmet Güneş; Rahime Karvar; Vedat Örüç and Velat Ekin.
According to Mezopotamya, the journalists were detained as part of an investigation conducted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The detentions are part of a troubling trend in Turkey, where the government has been increasingly repressive of the press, particularly those voicing opposition or reporting on sensitive issues, such as Kurdish rights.
The international community, including human rights organizations, has repeatedly condemned these actions, which they see as attempts to stifle freedom of expression and suppress dissenting voices.
Kurdish journalists in Turkey frequently face legal harassment, stand trial and are given jail sentences for covering issues related to Kurds and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Rights groups routinely accuse Turkey of undermining media freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down critical media outlets, particularly after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan survived a failed coup in July 2016.
Turkey is one of the world’s biggest jailers of professional journalists and was ranked 158th among 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
