Journalist Ferhat Çelik detained in İstanbul

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Mezopotamya Agency (MA) Managing Editor Ferhat Çelik was taken into custody last night (January 5).

Police came to the house of Çelik in İstanbul's Şişli, telling him that the Gaziantep Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation against him over a news report shared on the MA's YouTube page. Saying that he had to give his statement about the issue, the police detained the journalist.

After he underwent a medical check at the Okmeydanı Training and Research Hospital, Çelik was taken to the Feriköy Police Station.

The police station informed that there was a one-day detention warrant against Çelik for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization".

Held in Feriköy Police Station, Ferhat Çelik is expected to give his statement at the prosecutor's office today.

Judicial harassment

Ferhat Çelik is one of the journalists frequently facing police and judicial harassment in Turkey. Over the news about the intelligence officer laid to rest in Manisa following his death in Libya, Çelik was put on trial along with journalists Aydın Keser, Barış Pehlivan, Barış Terkoğlu, Eren Ekinci, Hülya Kılınç and Murat Ağırel. He was sentenced to 4 years, 8 months, 7 days in prison for violating the Law on National Intelligence Organization (MİT).

Over a news report titled "Bugs put in prisoners' food in Bayburt", which was published by the MA on October 4, 2018, Managing Editor Ferhat Çelik was also put on trial in 2021 upon the criminal complaint of the Bayburt Type M Closed Prison. He was acquitted at his first hearing.

Frequently detained, Çelik was taken into custody last year while he was on his way to visit journalist Sadık Topaloğlu in prison. He was released after giving his statement; however, police officers came to his house in the evening and detained him again, saying that "he should depose." (HA/SD)