BirGün newspaper journalist Timur Soykan was briefly taken into custody Saturday (July 5) before being released on bail a day later. The detention was related to several social media posts by Soykan criticizing the recent arrests of opposition mayors of Antalya, Adıyaman, and İzmir.
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| Turkish Journalist Timur Soykan released following detention over social media posts BirGün newspaper journalist Timur Soykan was briefly taken into custody Saturday (July 5) before being released on bail a day later. The detention was related to several social media posts by Soykan criticizing the recent arrests of opposition mayors of Antalya, Adıyaman, and İzmir. |
Several posts by Soykan on X, formerly known as Twitter, had reacted to the recent wave of arrests saying:
“The coup continues. The will of the public is being usurped. The ballot box had been rendered meaningless. They should introduce a law stipulating that it is illegal to defeat the AKP [Justice & Development Party] in elections. This way, they will be freed of the need to pretend that we actually have a functioning justice system. This regime has made clear that they feel no need to convince the public of these corruption raids. They have made clear to the public that ‘you may not vote for anyone except us’. The public will either submit to this pressure and become slaves of the regime and become even poorer, or the public will defend its rights, freedom, and country.”
Following the posts, an investigation was launched against the journalist accusing him of ‘spreading misleading information’.
- Journalists from opposition-leaning newspapers arrested
- New wave of arrests targets more opposition controlled municipalities
Soykan’s arrest over the weekend follows his brief arrest in April in which his home was raided on charges of ‘threats’ and ‘blackmail’.
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Medyascope’u senin desteğin ayakta tutuyor. Hiçbir patronun, siyasi çıkarın güdümünde değiliz; hangi haberi yapacağımıza biz karar veriyoruz. Tıklanma uğruna değil, kamu yararına çalışıyoruz. Bağımsız gazeteciliğin sürmesi, sitenin açık kalması ve herkesin doğru bilgiye erişebilmesi senin desteğinle mümkün.
On Sunday evening (July 6), Soykan was released from detention in Istanbul, where he met reporters, saying: “I know that the days of freedom are very close, the days when we can defend our rights and talk freely.”
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
