Turkish court releases all journalists detained during Imamoglu protests
University students march in protest towards the Istanbul Municipality in Sarachane as they demonstrate against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, on March 20, 2025 (AA Photo)
A Turkish court on Thursday freed seven journalists who were detained during protests against the arrest of former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Yasin Akgul, along with photojournalist Bulent Kilic and reporters Zeynep Kuray, Kurtulus Ari, Ali Onur Tosun, Hayri Tunc, and Gokhan Kam, were detained while covering the Imamoglu protests.
AFP’s Akgul, 35, was one of seven Turkish journalists arrested this week after days of covering mass protests that erupted on March 19 when Imamoglu was detained and later arrested.
Akgul and his colleagues were arrested at their homes before dawn and charged with “taking part in illegal rallies and marches and failing to disperse despite warnings”, court documents showed.
Akgul, he stressed, was “not part of the protest” but only covering it as a journalist, and should be swiftly released.
