In Izmir, a coastal city in western Turkey, six journalists were detained in a morning raid under allegations of "organization membership." It has been revealed that the investigation leading to their detention is based on these claims. The detention period for the journalists has been extended by three days.
The journalists, Melike Aydın, Semra Turan, Fatma Funda Akbulut, Delal Akyüz, Cihan Başakçıoğlu, and Tolga Güney, were detained at their homes in a raid conducted by the Izmir Police Department in the early hours of yesterday. The ban on meetings with lawyers for the detained journalists was lifted after 24 hours. The lawyers, upon meeting with the journalists, reported that handcuffs were applied in a reverse manner during the detention.
Handcuffing journalists in reverse
Muhammed Ünsal, a lawyer from the MLSA Legal Unit, met with the detained journalists and shared details of their arrest. He reported that Delal Akyüz, a reporter for Mezopotamya Agency, experienced severe neck squeezing during his arrest, causing him intense pain while in detention. Ünsal also noted that when the journalists were being taken out of their homes, the police started recording with cameras while other officers forcibly bent the heads of the journalists forward to put them into the police vehicle.
Ünsal mentioned that due to confidentiality orders in the file, the content of the investigation remains unknown. He also stated that the journalists are being held at the Izmir Branch of the Anti-Terror Police (TEM) and that no information has been provided regarding when their statements will be taken.
