Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who was detained upon arrival in Turkey on Thursday while traveling to cover ongoing protests, has been jailed, his editor confirmed to Agence France-Presse on Friday.
“Yes, it’s correct,” Dagens ETC Editor-in-Chief Andreas Gustavsson said in a text message when asked if Medin had been arrested. “We have not been informed about the actual charges yet,” he added.
BREAKING — Turkey arrests Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who was in Istanbul covering anti-government protests, for reportedly 'insulting the Turkish President' and ‘being a member of a terrorist group’. https://t.co/T1foFxcC7L
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) March 28, 2025
Medin was stopped at the airport in Turkey, where he had arrived to report on widespread demonstrations triggered by the detention and jailing of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the main opposition rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard confirmed Medin’s detention in a social media post, stating that Sweden “always takes it seriously when journalists are detained.”
Turkish media have reported that Medin is accused of “insulting the president” and being a “member of an armed terrorist organization,” though no formal charges have been announced.
“I know that these accusations are false — 100 percent false,” Gustavsson wrote on X. He said Medin had earlier texted him to say he was being “taken in for questioning.”
“Joakim should be released. Because freedom of the press is under attack,” Gustavsson added.
Medin’s arrest comes amid a wider crackdown on dissent in Turkey, where authorities have detained more than 1,879 people since March 19, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
The crackdown began after İmamoğlu’s detention and subsequent arrest on corruption charges, a move widely condemned by human rights groups and foreign governments as politically motivated.
On Friday the Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS) said two Turkish women journalists were detained in dawn raids for covering the protests. Their detention followed the release of the last of 11 journalists detained in similar raids earlier in the week, including AFP photographer Yasin Akgül.
Separately, BBC journalist Mark Lowen was deported from Turkey on Wednesday after being held for 17 hours. Turkish authorities cited a “lack of accreditation” and said he posed “a threat to public order,” according to the broadcaster.