A Turkish court on Tuesday remanded in custody seven journalists for covering the mass protests that erupted following the arrest of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, in a crackdown that has now seen more than 1,400 people arrested.
Among the journalists placed under arrest by the Istanbul court was AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, who was seen being escorted away to jail.
Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced the move as “scandalous”.
Vast crowds have hit the streets daily since the March 19 move against Istanbul’s popular opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, prompting nightly clashes with riot police that have spread across the country.
With security forces using water cannons, pepper spray and rubber bullets against protesters, the Council of Europe denounced a “disproportionate” use of force while Human Rights Watch warned that this is a “dark time for democracy” in Turkey.
Akgul, one of 10 journalists rounded up by police in dawn raids on Monday, had earlier on Tuesday been granted conditional release by the court along with six other journalists.
But shortly afterwards, prosecutors revised their decision and the court decided to remand them all in custody on grounds of taking part in an “illegal” protest, his lawyer and the MLSA rights group said.
“This is the first time that a clearly-identified journalist has, in the exercise of his duties, been formally arrested on the basis of this law against gatherings and demonstrations,” RSF’s Erol Onderoglu told AFP following the decision about Akgul, the first to be announced.
“This scandalous decision reflects a very serious situation in Turkey,” he said
– ‘Political coup’ –
Imamoglu, 53, of the opposition CHP party, is widely seen as the only politician capable of defeating Erdogan, who has ruled the NATO member for a quarter of a century.
But he has now been stripped of his mayorship and jailed because of a graft and terror probe that his supporters denounce as a “political coup”.
By Tuesday, police had detained 1,418 suspects for taking part in “illegal demonstrations”, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
He warned that “no concessions” will be made to those whom he said attempt to “terrorise the streets”.
Riot police once again cracked down on protesters who gathered outside Istanbul City Hall for a sixth night on Monday, and also roughly dispersed a student sit-in on Galata Bridge spanning the Golden Horn estuary, AFP correspondents and media reports said.
The unrest has continued despite a ban on protests in Turkey’s three biggest cities, with the ban in the western coastal city of Izmir until March 29 and in Ankara until April 1, officials said on Tuesday.
But student groups — many of whom have announced a lecture boycott in Turkey’s main cities — announced a new gathering on Tuesday with protesters called to join them at Istanbul’s Macka Park at 1400 GMT.
A doctors’ union also announced a march at 1630 GMT which would head towards City Hall.
But Erdogan has remained defiant in the face of the protests, vowing in a message on social media late on Monday that Turkey will “not fall for this dirty trick” and denouncing the protesters as “street terrorists”.
– ‘Deeply shocking’ –
Europe’s top rights body, the Council of Europe, expressed concern about the “disproportionate use of force by the police”, urging Turkey to allow people to freely protest.
London-based rights watchdog Amnesty International also demanded an immediate halt to police violence, saying it had reviewed footage which was “deeply shocking”.
“This is a dark time for democracy in Turkiye, with such a blatantly lawless move to weaponise the justice system to cancel the democratic process,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
At Monday’s rally, opposition leader and CHP head Ozgur Ozel announced a boycott of 10 companies and organisations.
Among them were pro-government TV channels that have avoided broadcasting protest images, along with a cafe chain known for being close to the government.
On Sunday, Imamoglu was overwhelmingly chosen as the CHP’s candidate for a 2028 presidential run, with observers saying it was the looming primary that triggered the move against him.
His jailing drew sharp condemnation from Berlin, which called it “totally unacceptable”, echoing comments from Paris, with concern also expressed by Athens and Brussels.
Imamoglu has denounced the judicial moves against him as a political “execution without trial” but has vowed to fight on in several messages transmitted via his lawyers.
