Journalists Detained as Protests Over Jailing of Key Erdogan Rival Rock Turkiye

Turkish authorities detained several journalists from their homes, a media workers' union reported on Monday, in what it said was a crackdown amid escalating protests triggered by the imprisonment of the mayor of Istanbul and top rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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ISTANBUL:

On Sunday, a court formally arrested Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and ordered him jailed pending a trial on corruption charges.

His detention on Wednesday sparked the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkiye in more than a decade, deepening concerns over democracy and the rule of law.

In an apparent escalation of the government's response to the growing protests, the Disk-Basin-Is union said at least eight reporters and photojournalists were detained in what it said was an "attack on press freedoms and the people's right to learn the truth".

"You cannot hide the truth by silencing journalists!" the union wrote on the social media platform X, calling for their immediate release.