Tunceli police raided home of Doğan News Agency reporter Ferid Demir, on accusations of supporting and abetting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), on early Tuesday.
“If you write accurate and unbiased news reports in Turkey, your camera and even school-related CDs belonging to your children could be seized. Just because I wrote true and unbiased news; my home has been raided, my camera has been seized. I gave my testimony and I am free for now,” Demir wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday.
According to T24 news platform, Demir was asked about his reports on local marches and protests held against construction of a dam in Tunceli and about terror incidents.
Main opposition CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu lambasted the raid on his party meeting the same day.
“Look, I am reading you the reason given for the raid: ‘Making propaganda of a terrorist organization by reporting about meetings, demonstrations, protests and marches’,” he said.
According to P24 journalism platform, a total of 126 journalist are now under arrest in Turkey, a country which has closed 180 media outlets over alleged terror links since the July 15 alone. (Turkey Purge)