Documentary filmmaker Koray Kesik in custody, equipment seized

Documentary filmmaker Koray Kesik has been in custody for four days, with his detention extended by the authorities for three consecutive days.

The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), which is representing Kesik, has expressed concern over the lack of information regarding the charges against him and the seizure of his documentary materials.

Kesik's detention began on the night of May 2 the police have not yet taken his statement. The MLSA has criticized the secrecy surrounding the investigation and has filed objections to the decisions to confiscate Kesik's work and equipment.

In a show of solidarity, colleagues of Kesik and rights advocates gathered on Saturday at the Karşı Art Gallery on Beyoğlu, İstanbul, to demand his immediate release. Prominent figures from the documentary film community, including Can Candan, İmre Azem, Çayan Demirel, Ümit Kıvanç, Sibel Tekin, Güliz Sağlam, Ayşe Çetintaş, and Berke Baş, were present at the event.

Nalan Sakızlı, a founding member of the Documentary Filmmakers Association and a colleague of Kesik, spoke at the event, emphasizing Kesik's contributions to documentary cinema and his role as a conscientious citizen sensitive to his country and its people. Sakızlı and others have condemned the ongoing pressure, censorship, and bans imposed on artists in Turkey, declaring such actions as destructive and unacceptable. (AÖ/VK)