Nine Kurdish journalists detained in house raids

In a series of dawn raids this morning across three provinces, nine journalists working for pro-Kurdish news outlets were detained.

In İstanbul, several journalists were detained during the raids. Among them were MA reporter Esra Solin Dal, along with Enes Sezgin from Yeni Yaşam Newspaper, journalist Erdoğan Alayumat from Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper and press workers Saliha Aras, Yeşim Alıcı, Beste Argat Balcı, and Şirin Ermiş. Additionally, was taken into custody.

In Ankara, journalist Mehmet Aslan, working for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency (MA), was detained during a house raid.

Furthermore, former MA correspondent Doğan Kaynak was detained during a house raid in Urfa.

The authorities imposed a restriction on the detainees' meetings with their lawyers.

"An attack on the free press"

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party has condemned the detentions. Gülistan Kılıç-Koçyiğit, deputy chair of the DEM parliamentary group, said, "Following the celebration of the struggle of free press workers on Kurdish Journalists' Day yesterday, today in İstanbul and Ankara, 8 journalists were detained in an operation.

"Similarly, Belgian police raided the studios of Stêrk TV and Medya Haber TV without notice, unlawfully threatening their employees with detention, and seizing some of the technical equipment and documents! Journalism is not a crime! These operations are attacks on press freedom and the public's right to information!"

The Dicle Firat Journalists Association (DFG) also denounced the operations in a written statement, saying, "We would like to emphasize that we do not consider it coincidental that Kurdish media organizations and Kurdish journalists are once again targeted just one day after Kurdish Journalists' Day on April 22.

"Similarly, it would be a mistake to consider these operations independently of the political process. It seems that the political government, unable to digest the outcome of the March 31 local elections, is planning to overcome its political impasse by once again targeting the Kurdish people." (AD/VK)