Turkey detains opposition journalist over ‘false information’
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Mr Ismail Ari, a journalist for left-wing newspaper Birgun, was arrested on the evening of March 21 in the northern province of Tokat.
PHOTO: BIRGUN NEWSPAPER/FACEBOOK
ISTANBUL – A journalist from a Turkish newspaper critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government was placed in pre-trial detention on March 22 for “spreading false information”, his publication said.
Mr Ismail Ari, a journalist for left-wing newspaper Birgun, was arrested on the evening of March 21 in the northern province of Tokat, which he was visiting to celebrate the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, his paper said.
He was then taken to the capital Ankara for questioning and placed in pre-trial detention, Birgun said.
“I was arrested because of a three-month-old video,” Mr Ari said in a statement sent by his lawyers, without giving details.
“They’ve been looking for a pretext to arrest me for the past year.”
The Istanbul-based paper, known for its investigations into the Turkish government, did not specify what articles led to Mr Ari’s arrest.
“Ismail has never lied to the people,” the newspaper posted on social media platform X.
At a protest in Ankara in support of Mr Ari, Birgun editor Yasar Aydin vowed: “We will not be silent. We will continue to write, speak and express ourselves.”
“Journalism is not a crime. Ismail Ari must be released immediately,” the Turkish Journalists’ Union wrote on X.
In late February, a Turkish journalist from Germany’s Deutsche Welle public broadcaster was likewise arrested and detained for the crime of allegedly “insulting the president”, prompting Berlin to demand his immediate release.
Rights group Reporters Without Borders ranks Turkey 159 out of 180 countries on its Press Freedom Index, between Pakistan and Venezuela. AFP
