Turkish police on Monday morning detained 10 journalists including an Agence France-Presse photographer, the French news agency said.
The new detentions come amid a major crackdown by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s authorities, which included the arrest of Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a highly popular opposition party figure.
According to the Media and Law Studies Association, which provides legal support for journalists in Turkey, the journalists were arrested due to their coverage of protests in Istanbul and elsewhere against the jailing of İmamoğlu.
“At this stage, we prefer not to make any further comments,” AFP told POLITICO.
İmamoğlu, a highly popular secularist, has been seen as a contender to succeed the Islamist Erdoğan. He has been officially nominated as a presidential candidate by the opposition Republican People’s Party for the next elections, which are currently expected in 2028.
However, his university diploma was annulled Tuesday, which would rule him out as a candidate, and he was subsequently detained by authorities Wednesday, before being formally arrested Sunday.
İmamoğlu’s arrest has sparked outrage among Turkish civil society and international partners, with France’s foreign ministry denouncing it as “a serious attack on democracy.”
Since his initial detention, tens of thousands of supporters have taken to the streets in more than a dozen cities, sometimes clashing with riot police and facing water cannons, and hundreds have been arrested.
AFP is one of the world’s largest news agencies, providing news wires, pictures and videos to clients, including media outlets, companies and public institutions.
While its statutes guarantee editorial independence, the French state plays a key role in its funding and three of its board members are appointed by the government.
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