In Istanbul, eight journalists have been taken into custody, in a reversal of an initial decision to release them following their arrest for covering Turkey’s largest anti-government protests in years. The journalists were among 10 who were arrested during dawn raids on their homes earlier in the week. Initially, an Istanbul court ruled for their release, but then reversed the decision, issuing an official arrest order.

Among those detained is Yasin Akgül of Agence France-Presse and former AFP photojournalist Bülent Kılıç, who was named The Guardian’s agency photographer of the year in 2014 for his work in Ukraine, events on the Turkish-Syrian border, and the deadly crash of flight MH17.

The journalists were arrested after documenting large-scale anti-government demonstrations, the first of their kind in years in Turkey, prompted by the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu last week. Over 1,400 people have been taken into custody in connection with the protests.

Each journalist has been charged with “taking part in illegal rallies and marches and failing to disperse despite warnings,” according to court documents.

The arrest of Akgül has drawn a sharp rebuke from AFP chairman Fabrice Fries who called it “unacceptable” and asked the Turkish presidency to intervene for a swift release of their journalist, stating that Akgül was not part of the protest.

“Yasin Akgül was not part of the protest,” he wrote. “It is the job of a photographer to be where the events are occurring, including getting between protesters and the forces of order.”

Several media rights organizations have also denounced the decision as “scandalous,” and there has been significant political tension, with İmamoğlu being the main opposition’s presidential candidate and a longstanding rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Emre Kızılkaya of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government comments that while journalists in Turkey are frequently detained, an official request from prosecutors to keep them detained is extremely uncommon. Kızılkaya underscores that this event is significant because it involves photojournalists with international profiles and suggests a disregard for freedom of the press and constitutional rights.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/25/eight-journalists-covering-anti-government-protests-held-in-turkey