According to information provided by Muhammed Ünsal, a lawyer with the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), six journalists and media workers who have been detained in İzmir since February 13 are expected to give their police statements today, as their three-day detention period comes to an end. They are currently held at the İzmir Police Headquarters.
The lawyers from the MLSA Legal Unit, including Muhammed Ünsal, are supporting the defense statements of the journalists. The attorneys are set to meet with the prosecutor conducting the investigation to get information on when the statement procedures will start.
The journalists and media workers were detained during house raids on February 13 as part of an investigation led by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Those detained include reporters Semra Turan, Delal Akyüz, and Tolga Güney from the Mesopotamia Agency (MA), Melike Aydın from JINNEWS, Cihan Başakçıoğlu from Gazete Duvar, and Fatma Funda Akbulut, a media worker for the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).
During the house raids, computers, phones, and other materials belonging to the journalists were seized on the grounds of being “evidence of a crime.” The file on the case, which is said to be confidential, includes a three-day detention order for the journalists and media workers. Additionally, a restriction was imposed on their communication with lawyers for 24 hours.
The journalists and media workers being held at the İzmir Police Directorate's Anti-Terrorism Branch are accused of being “members of an organization.”
The journalists' lawyers are seeking information about when the statement procedures will begin by meeting with the prosecutor in charge of the investigation.
Muhammed Ünsal, a lawyer from the MLSA Legal Unit, is providing support for the defense statements of the journalists.
