Ten press freedom organizations on Thursday called for the immediate and unconditional release of three journalists arrested in Turkey earlier this month as part of a sweeping counterterrorism investigation targeting left-wing groups and media outlets.
In a joint statement, the organizations said the detentions reflect what they described as a systematic effort to criminalize routine journalistic activity under counterterrorism legislation.
“The arrests represent an example of the criminalization of journalism and the use of counterterrorism legislation to restrict freedom of expression,” the groups said. “Depriving journalists of their liberty because of their reporting, writing and critical views is unacceptable and undermines not only media workers but also the public’s right to access information.”
The statement concerned Pınar Gayıp, Nadiye Gürbüz and Elif Bayburt, who work for the pro-Kurdish Etkin News Agency (ETHA). Police detained them on February 3 during coordinated raids across more than 20 provinces carried out under an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into alleged links with the outlawed Marxist Leninist Communist Party.
Authorities initially detained dozens of people in the operation, including journalists, activists and trade union members. After several days in custody, an Istanbul court arrested 47 suspects on terrorism-related charges on February 5 and 6, including the three ETHA journalists, ordering them held in pretrial detention.
Prosecutors cited the journalists’ social media posts, news coverage and reporting on public events as evidence supporting allegations of membership in a terrorist organization. Phone records, financial intelligence reports, professional contacts and trade union affiliations were also included in the investigation file.
The press freedom groups said questions during the investigation focused directly on the journalists’ reporting, interviews and attendance at press events, which they described as ordinary professional activities.
The signatories comprise the Media and Law Studies Association, the International Press Institute, PEN Norway, the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association, the Press Workers’ Union of Turkey, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey, the Press, Media, Communication and Postal Workers Union, the Turkish Union of Press, Publishing and Printing Workers, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom and the P24 Platform for Independent Journalism.
