Journalists Ercüment Akdeniz, Elif Akgül, Yıldız Tar and Ender İmrek were detained in police raids on 18 February, as part of an operation that resulted in the detention of around 50 individuals. The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) joined their Turkish affiliates, DİSK Basın-İş Sendikası and Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikasi (TGS), in condemning the detentions and urging the authorities to stop prosecuting journalists.
Led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the operation was part of an investigation into the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), an umbrella organisation for left-wing and pro-Kurdish groups, on terrorism-related offences. The detentions spanned ten provinces and included politicians, activists and four journalists.
The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) reported that two DİSK Basın-İş members, freelance journalist Elif Akgül and writer and TV commentator Ercüment Akdeniz, were detained in Istanbul, while Yıldız Tar, the editor-in-chief of the LGBTQ+ publication KAOS GL, was taken into custody in Ankara. All detainees were banned from seeing their lawyers for 24 hours.
On 19 February, MSLA said that the detention of journalists Akgül and Tar had been extended. The organisation also reported that police questioned Tar about her personal social media accounts, union and association memberships, civil society activities and phone calls made in 2012 and 2013.
The detentions and lack of transparency concerning the operation underscore the escalating threats to press freedom and the ability of journalists to carry out their work freely.
Prosecution of journalists surges in 2025
On a day that was particularly dark for press freedom, Ozan Kaplanoğlu, editor-in-chief of local newspaper Bursa Muhalif and a member of DİSK Basın-İş Sendikası, has been convicted of insulting the then Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during a protest in 2013. Kaplanoğlu was sent to prison after a conditional release decision was revoked.
Journalist Beritan Canözer was sentenced to one year and three months in prison on charges of “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation”. Canözer was tried in connection with social media posts that she had published in 2015.
Alongside press freedom and human rights organisations, the IFJ expressed serious concern at the escalation of press freedom violations and at the fact that journalists’ rights are being violated, which have marked a troubling start to 2025.
DİSK Basın-İş Sendikası condemned the government’s attack on journalists and reiterated their commitment to fight for the release of their colleagues.
Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikasi (TGS) denounced the fact that, instead of being summoned to the police station, the journalists were taken into custody in early morning police raids in their homes.
“Türkiye’s authoritarian drift and its continued violations of press freedom and journalists’ rights are extremely worrying. We urge the authorities to end the oppression and unjust detentions of journalists and to ensure that its practices align with international standards for the protection of freedom of expression and press freedom. The IFJ and the EFJ express their solidarity with detained journalists and demand their immediate and unconditional release,” said the IFJ and the EFJ.
Source: IFJ
