A Turkish court has rejected an appeal challenging the detention of Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who is being held on charges of membership in an armed terrorist organization. Medin will remain in pretrial detention while legal proceedings continue.
The 68th Criminal Court of First Instance in Ankara ruled that the original arrest order, issued on March 28 by the Ankara 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace, was lawful and procedurally valid. The court cited strong suspicion of a crime, the current state of evidence, the risk of evidence tampering, and the inadequacy of judicial control measures as grounds for keeping Medin in custody.
In its decision, the court stated that there was “no illegality in the detention order, no new developments in favor of the suspect, and the reasons for detention still apply.”
Speaking on the ruling, Veysel Ok, co-director of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), said that the organization would file an individual application with Turkey’s Constitutional Court to challenge the detention.
MLSA attorneys had lodged the appeal on April 3, arguing that the detention of Medin was unlawful. The court, however, upheld the detention and ordered the case file to be forwarded to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, stating the decision was final.
Medin, a Swedish national and journalist, was taken into custody on March 27, 2025, upon arrival at Istanbul Airport. He was formally arrested the following day by the Ankara 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organization—a vague and broadly applied charge often used by Turkish authorities against journalists, human rights defenders, and opposition figures.
