TRT World Team Detained in Myanmar

Click to read the article in Turkish

Four people were detained in Myanmar on Sunday (October 29) including two freelance reporters from Turkey's national public broadcaster, TRT World on the claims that they had been taking footage with a drone around the Parliament's building.

Journalists Lau Hon Meng from Singapore and Mok Choy Lin from Malaysia as well as their driver who is a citizen of Malaysia and local journalist Aung Naing Soe were taken into custody.

The journalists who were taken into custody short after taking footage with a drone near the Parliament in Myanmar's capital city of Naypyidaw, were accused of "illegally importing drone from abroad to Myanmar without permission".

TRT World has reported that they had contacted the Myanmar authorities to secure the journalists' release and that the police of Myanmar confirmed the detentions without providing any additional information however.

Myanmar's state TV MRTV has reported that the journalists did not get any permission to take footage above the Parliament and that Myanmar's Foreign Ministry had informed the Embassies of Singapore and Myanmar on the issue.

The two journalists reportedly work in cooperation with Myanmar's well-known journalist Aung Naing Soe. Aung Naing Soe's apartment in Yangon city was raided by Myanmar police on Friday (October 27). Police had seized memory sticks and tried to access the computer of the journalist.

In September, 2017, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had accused the security forces in Myanmar of "Buddhist terror" against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. (EA/DG).