A Turkish court has ruled for the arrest of six Kurdish journalists who were detained in a police operation across several provinces last week, Turkish Minute reported.
The journalists, detained following a series of raids on their homes in İstanbul, the eastern province of Van and the southern province of Mersin on Friday, were referred to an İstanbul court following their interrogation by prosecutors, who subsequently ordered their arrest on Monday.
The arrestees are Reyhan Hacıoğlu, a former editor for the pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem newspaper, which was shut down by government decree in 2016; Necla Demir, the former publisher of the Gazete Karınca news website; Yeni Yaşam newspaper columnist Ahmet Güneş; Rahime Karvar; Vedat Örüç and Velat Ekin.
As part of the investigation conducted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the journalists are accused of “membership in a terrorist organization” — the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — on the basis of their journalistic activities.
The arrest of the journalists is part of a troubling trend in Turkey, where the government has increasingly been suppressing 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 sentenced to prison for covering issues related to Kurds and the PKK, which is designated 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.
