Journalist Esra Solin Dal strip searched, kept in solitary confinement for 11 days

Esra Solin Dal, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency (MA), has been placed in solitary confinement at the Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in İstanbul following her detention during a series of house raids on April 23. She was subsequently arrested and charged with "membership in a terrorist organization" on April 26.

Dal's request to be transferred to a communal cell with other detainees has yet to receive a response from the prison administration, MA reported. Her legal representatives have indicated that Dal is being subjected to "special treatment" and have announced plans to take legal action in response.

The case of Dal has garnered attention, particularly after reports emerged that she was subjected to a strip search upon her arrest, an act condemned by journalist associations as a violation of human dignity and a form of torture.

This incident is considered part of a broader pattern of repression against Kurdish journalists and pro-Kurdish media outlets, raising concerns about press freedom and human rights in the country. (TY/VK)