Press freedom and human rights organizations have condemned the detention of four journalists in Turkey, calling it a crackdown on independent media and demanding their immediate release.
The organizations criticized the authorities for detaining journalists in early-morning raids rather than summoning them for testimony, calling it an attempt to intimidate the press. They also denounced the secrecy surrounding the case, as the journalists were denied access to their lawyers during questioning and the investigation has been placed under a confidentiality order.
The journalists taken into custody are Yıldız Tar, editor-in-chief of Kaos GL; independent journalist Elif Akgül; İlke TV presenter Ercüment Akdeniz; and journalist Ender İmrek.
“This is part of a troubling pattern of press suppression,” the statement read, noting that in the month of January alone 18 journalists were detained, nine of whom were arrested. In the first two weeks of February, at least six journalists covering protests in Van were also taken into custody.
The four journalists were among 52 people taken into custody on February 18 as part of an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office targeting the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK).
The prosecutor’s office described the HDK as a “legal front organization” operating as an “alternative assembly” to the Turkish parliament and alleged that it follows directives from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK). Authorities cited a 2019 ruling by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals that labelled the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), an entity closely linked to the HDK, as a terrorist organization.
Officials claimed that HDK members were involved in past civil unrest, including the 2014 Kobani protests and the 2015 urban clashes in southeastern Turkey following the collapse of Ankara’s peace talks with the PKK, and alleged that some within the organization facilitated recruitment efforts for PKK-linked militant groups.
The detained journalists have been vocal on press freedom issues and have long covered government policies, rights violations and legal proceedings against other members of the media.
“The government has a duty to ensure that journalists, human rights defenders and civil society actors can work freely, without fear of repression,” the organizations said.
The statement was signed by 15 press freedom and journalist organizations, comprising the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), the International Press Institute (IPI), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFGD), the Association of Journalists (Ankara), the Mesopotamia Women Journalists Association (MKG), the Women Journalists Association, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), DİSK Basın-İş, KESK Haber-Sen, Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), the Association of Journalists (Gazeteciler Cemiyeti), the Progressive Journalists Association (ÇGD), the Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ).
