Turkish press organizations have condemned the recent detentions of multiple journalists and a media translator as part of an investigation led by prosecutors in the northeastern province of Artvin, the Velev news website reported.
Semra Pelek, a former member of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA); Ozan Cırık, a journalist with Sendika.org; Melisa Efe, a translator for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; and Dicle Baştürk, a freelance journalist, were detained on Friday in İstanbul over allegations of links to an illegal organization. The detentions were carried out on the order of the Artvin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Press advocacy groups issued strong rebukes on Sunday.
The Turkey Journalists’ Association (TGC) said the arrests illustrate a climate in which journalists face “daily threats of detention” and emphasized that freedom of expression and the press are constitutionally protected.
“We call on authorities to stop using arrests to silence the press,” the group said in a statement. “Journalists must be released and tried without detention.”
DİSK Basın-İş, a labor union for media workers, similarly denounced the detentions.
“We may not yet know the full reasons behind these detentions due to a secrecy order,” the union said in a social media post. “But we are certain: journalism is not a crime.”
The Dicle-Fırat Journalists’ Association also condemned the detentions, stating, “We say again journalism is not a crime, and we reaffirm our commitment to report the truth regardless of pressure.”
The journalists, who were transferred to Artvin over the weekend, were questioned by authorities about payments they received for news reports, technical assistance provided to news websites and their phone communications. According to reports, the interrogations focused on whether these transactions could constitute evidence of criminal activity. The detainees denied the allegations, saying the payments were standard remuneration for their professional work.
Turkey, which is 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.
Turkish authorities frequently use broad counterterrorism laws and insult charges to prosecute members of the press.
