Türkiye: 11 journalists detained in dawn raids
The union is urging the immediate release of journalists detained across cities by Turkish police.
The National Union of Journalists joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in condemning the crackdown on journalism in Türkiye.
On 24 March, journalists had their homes raided and were subsequently detained, in action related to their reporting of protests in support of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul mayor and opposition presidential candidate. İmamoğlu was charged with corruption a day prior, on 23 March.
Yasin Akgül (AFP), Ali Onur Tosun (Now TV News), Bülent Kılıç (freelance journalist), Zeynep Kuray, Kurtuluş Arı (İBB, İstanbul Municipality), Hayri Tunç, Gökhan Kam and Barış İnce were among journalists detained. In İzmir, Murat Kocabaş, photojournalist, was taken into custody at his home by officers from the Anti-Terrorism Branch (TEM).
Journalist Zişan Gür was also detained while reporting from a protest site on 23 March. The IFJ reports Yağız Barut was also held by authorities.
The NUJ strongly condemns the attacks against journalists across Turkey, including those involving the use of rubber bullets.
An order from Turkish authorities has urged the social media platform X, to block over 700 accounts including the Turkish-language account of Bianet, an independent online media outlet.
On 25 March, arrest warrants for seven Turkish journalists were issued by a court. Journalists Yasin Akgül (AFP), Ali Onur Tosun (Now TV News), Bülent Kılıç (freelance), Zeynep Kuray, Kurtuluş Arı (İBB), Hayri Tunç and Gökhan Kam had all been detained in recent days.
Dominique Pradalie, IFJ president, said:
“This brutal crackdown on journalists is an outrageous attack on press freedom and democracy. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues and call on Turkish authorities to end this blatant assault on independent journalism. The world is watching."