Istanbul, April 17, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkey to drop charges against five photojournalists, whose trial begins on Friday, for allegedly taking part in protests in Istanbul last month.
The journalists could be jailed for up to three years for violating the law on gatherings and demonstrations. In the indictment, reviewed by CPJ, prosecutors argue that the journalists were participating in an illegal meeting as protesters. Photographs in which their press credentials and cameras were not visible were submitted as evidence to support this charge.
“This trial has been invented as a scare tactic to intimidate and deter all journalists in Turkey from reporting from the field. Experienced journalists should not be forced to explain in court why they were photographing Turkey’s biggest protests in a decade, in its biggest city,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Authorities should drop the charges against the five photojournalists who already suffer enough in trying to capture images of historic events while repeatedly being beaten, tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets.”
On March 24, Istanbul police raided the homes of Agence France-Presse’s Yasin Akgül, local NOW Haber TV channel’s Ali Onur Tosun, and freelancers Bülent Kılıç, Zeynep Kuray, and Hayri Tunç, as well as two photographers employed by local municipalities, Kuruluş Arı and Gökhan Kam.
All seven were arrested and then released on March 27, pending their April 18 trial.
Unrest broke out on March 19 following the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is seen as a potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
CPJ’s email to Istanbul’s chief prosecutor requesting comment did not receive a response.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.