Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A Turkey court has ordered to jail an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Yasin Akgul as part of an investigation over protests in Istanbul against the arrest of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is considered as a top rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The court in its ruling said that photojournalist Akgul would be detained until the investigation is ongoing over the charge of attending illegal meetings and marches, and not dispersing voluntarily despite warnings, Reuters reported.
As per the court document, Akgul’s lawyer claimed that in their defence that he was covering protests as a journalist and requested his immediate release.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that 1,418 people have been arrested by the authorities since Wednesday who took part in the nationwide protests, adding that about 478 of them have faced judicial authorities.
The decision by the Turkey court to arrest Akgul was criticised by Reports Without Borders (RSF), an organisation which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. RSF denounced the arrest as “scandalous”.
“This is the first time that a clearly-identified journalist has, in the exercise of his duties, been formally arrested on the basis of this law against gatherings and demonstrations,” RSF’s Erol Onderoglu told AFP.
The protests in Turkey erupted after Mayor Imamoglu was detained on suspicion of running a criminal organization, accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging, the charges he has denied.
Mayor Imamoglu was suspended from his work as a “temporary measure” and the municipality has announced an acting mayor from its governing council.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
