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Sixteen Turkish journalists associated with the pro-Kurdish media were taken into custody on Thursday pending trial on charges of belonging to a “terrorist organization”.
Journalists have worked for media outlets affiliated with the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), which risks being banned in Turkey for alleged links to illegal militants who have been inciting an uprising against the Turkish state for decades.
The 16 were arrested, along with four other journalists, on June 8 in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on charges of belonging to the press services of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), classified as a group. terrorist ”from Ankara, the EU and the United States. HDP denies formal ties to PKK.
On Thursday, the 16 journalists were accused of “belonging to a terrorist organization”, according to the arrest document. A defense attorney confirmed that they had been jailed pending trial. Among those arrested is Serdar Altan, co-chair of a journalists’ association. The other four were released under judicial supervision.
A representative from Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s Turkish branch, Erol Onderoglu, denounced the arrests as an attempt to weaken the “Kurdish political class… and deprive them of the right to be heard” ahead of the presidential election. of Turkey next year.
Turkey has said it plans to launch an offensive in northern Syria against Kurdish militants.
A large number of HDP members have been arrested following a failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.
Turkey’s western allies have been alarmed by the arrests, warning that these actions threaten to further undermine diplomatic ties with Erdogan’s government.
Turkey ranks 149th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index according to Reporters Without Borders for 2022 and is regularly criticized for persecuting media that are critical of the government./REL
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