An İstanbul court on Tuesday ordered the formal arrest of an Agence France-Presse photographer who had been detained after covering mass protests, reversing an earlier decision to grant him conditional release, the agency reported, citing his lawyer.
Photographer Yasin Akgul, who was arrested at his home before dawn on Monday, was charged with “taking part in illegal rallies and marches and failing to disperse despite warnings,” court documents showed.
The move was condemned as “scandalous” by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press watchdog.
Akgül was among the 10 journalists detained in early morning operations at their homes for covering days-long violent protests in İstanbul and other cities against the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
On Tuesday morning he and six other journalists were taken to the İstanbul Courthouse where they were granted conditional release.
But in what legal observers described as an “unprecedented” U-turn, prosecutors suddenly revised their request and asked that the court order his formal arrest, his lawyer said.
Six other journalists also had their conditional release orders reversed later in the day.
“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 Önderoğlu told AFP.
“This scandalous decision reflects a very serious situation in Turkey.”
AFP has been extensively covering the protests, with Akgül documenting the demonstrations in İstanbul and capturing their scale as well as the police response through his photography.
It is common for journalists to face physical violence and judicial harassment in Turkey while engaging in their profession.
Turkey, which has been suffering from a poor record of the press freedom, was ranked 158th out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
An Istanbul court on Tuesday ordered the formal arrest of an AFP photographer who had been detained after covering mass protests, reversing an earlier decision to grant him conditional release, his lawyer said.
Photographer Yasin Akgul, who was arrested at his home before dawn on Monday, was charged with “taking part in illegal rallies and marches and failing to disperse despite warnings”, court documents showed.
The move was condemned as “scandalous” by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press watchdog.
Akgul was one of 10 Turkish journalists rounded up early on Monday after days of covering the mass protests that began in Istanbul and spread across Turkey following the March 19 arrest of the city’s opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
On Tuesday morning, he and six other other journalists were taken to Caglayan courthouse where they were granted conditional release.
But in what legal observers described as an “unprecedented” U-turn, prosecutors suddenly revised their request and asked that the court order his formal arrest, his lawyer said.
It was not immediately clear whether the other six journalists also had their conditional release orders reversed.
“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.
“This scandalous decision reflects a very serious situation in Turkey.”