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A ‘photo plot’ targeting photojournalists: TGS chair comments on latest arrests in Turkey

7 0
26.03.2025

In the protests that started with the detention and arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, 10 journalists were detained and 7 of them have been arrested so far. Naturally, a question may come to mind, “While there are hundreds of people who have been unjustly and unlawfully arrested, do you only worry about 7 journalists among them?”

Of course, we are concerned about all our citizens who have been detained and arrested for exercising their right to protest, which is one of their fundamental human rights, and we demand their immediate release. The issue we want to draw attention to in this article is the conspiracy against journalists.

Dozens of journalists have followed the protests, which have been going on for days and attended by millions of people. When we heard the names of the detained journalists on Monday morning, it caught our attention that they were all colleagues who took photos and took images at almost all social events. It was obvious that journalists who filmed and reported on the disproportionate violence against citizens were specifically targeted, and that they wanted to prevent the images of police violence from reaching the general public and to intimidate other journalists covering the protests.

There is nothing legally justifiable about the detention of members of the press, or even their arrest. Even children now know that there can be no talk of judicial independence in Turkey. However, yesterday at Çağlayan Courthouse, the point of this strangeness was once again revealed. While we were waiting for the release of our colleagues, in a sense, the........

© Journo