Seven journalists have been arrested in Istanbul today on charges of violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations while covering protests that erupted after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The journalists include Zeynep Kuray, Hayri Tunç, Gökhan Kam, AFP photojournalist Yasin Akgül, NOW TV reporter Ali Onur Tosun, photojournalist Bülent Kılıç, and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality photographer Kurtuluş Arı. They were taken into custody while reporting on protests on 22 March and were later referred to the Penal Judgeship of Peace, which ruled for their formal arrest.
The arrests come amid a broader crackdown on journalists and demonstrators defying a city-wide protest ban imposed by the Istanbul Governor’s Office. All seven face charges under the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations, a statute increasingly used by authorities to suppress public dissent.
