A Swedish journalist named Joakim Medin, who arrived in Turkey to report on the ongoing protests surrounding the imprisonment of Istanbul’s mayor, has found himself in serious trouble. The Turkish presidency announced that he has been arrested on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization and for insulting the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Detained on Thursday upon landing in Turkey, Medin, who works for Dagens ETC newspaper, was promptly sent to prison the following day. The presidency also labeled him as “known for anti-Turkey news and his closeness to the terrorist organisation PKK,” a banned Kurdish militant group, though they insisted his arrest was not related to his journalistic activities.

This incident occurred shortly after the Turkish authorities released the last of 11 journalists arrested earlier on Monday for covering the same protests. Among those released was AFP photographer Yasin Akgul. It’s worth noting that other journalists have also faced the wrath of Turkish authorities in response to their coverage of the protests; BBC journalist Mark Lowen was arrested and deported from Turkey after being held for 17 hours on Wednesday for ostensibly posing a “threat to public order.” The Turkish communications directorate cited a lack of accreditation as the reason for Lowen’s deportation.

In an even more ominous turn, Turkish prosecutors had already begun an investigation into Medin in 2023 concerning a demonstration he participated in Stockholm. During the protest, a puppet of President Erdogan was hung from its feet, infuriating Turkish authorities who claimed it was orchestrated by PKK members. The incident led to the summoning of Sweden’s ambassador to Ankara.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/30/turkey-says-swedish-journalist-detained-on-terror-charges-and-for-insulting-the-president