A court in eastern Turkey on Friday ordered the arrest of journalist Cihan Berk on terrorism-related charges after police raided his home earlier in the day, Turkish media reported.
Berk, a correspondent for the pro-Kurdish Pir News Agency (PİRHA), was detained during an early morning police operation at his home in the southeastern province of Tunceli.
Police broke down the door during the raid and seized a computer and several books, according to witnesses.
After the search Berk was taken to a police station and later questioned by prosecutors before being brought before a court. Prosecutors requested his arrest, and the court ordered him jailed pending trial on accusations of membership in a terrorist organization. Berk denied the charges during the hearing.
The specific accusations have not been made public, and it was not immediately clear which organization prosecutors accuse Berk of being a member of.
He was transported to a prison in the neighboring province of Elazığ following the ruling.
Turkey frequently brings terrorism-related charges against journalists and media workers, most commonly alleging links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency and is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Press freedom and human rights groups say such cases often rely on reporting activity, sources or published content rather than evidence of involvement in violence and are used to deter critical coverage of problems Kurdish issues.
The Kurdish issue, a term prevalent in Turkey’s public discourse, refers to the demand for equal rights by the country’s Kurdish population and their struggle for recognition.
Turkey, which remains one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to press freedom organizations, dropped to 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in early May.
