The IPI global network of journalists, editors, and publishers is deeply concerned by the detention of at least 19 journalists for spreading “terrorist propaganda” in Diyarbakır on June 8. We call on authorities to immediately disclose the full details of these charges and to release the journalists being held in custody.  

Police forces this morning carried out an operation involving raids on private homes and media houses, detaining at least 19 journalists, according to reports. The journalists are reported to have been charged with “spreading terrorist propaganda” although the details of these charges are not being released by authorities.

Among those detained are Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) Co-Chair Serdar Altan; Mesopotamia News Agency (MA) editor Aziz Oruç; and journalists Ömer Çelik, Suat Doğuhan, Ramazan Geciken, Berivan Karatorak, Esmer Tunç, and Mehmet Şahin.

“IPI is extremely concerned by the detention of 19 journalists in Diyarbakır this morning through simultaneous police raids”, Turkey Programme Coordinator Renan Akyavaş said. “There is currently no detailed information on the investigation, yet what we have learned so far suggests that these arrests represent the continuation of the ongoing judicial harassment towards journalists reporting from the southeast region of Turkey.”