On 26 November, police conducted simultaneous raids in İstanbul and provinces with large Kurdish populations, detaining five journalists and a film director.
This statement was originally published on bianet.org on 26 November 2024.
Five journalists and a film director have been taken into custody during morning raids on their residences. Two journalists, including bianet reporter Tuğçe Yılmaz, were not present at the addresses at the time of the raids. Yılmaz was later taken into custody after visiting a police department to provide a statement.
Police conducted simultaneous raids in İstanbul and the Kurdish-populated provinces of Batman and Diyarbakır this morning, detaining five journalists and a film director. The raids were part of an investigation based in Eskişehir.
Police raided bianet reporter Tuğçe Yılmaz’s former residence in İstanbul. She was later summoned to the police department to provide a statement and was taken into custody there. Yılmaz is being transferred to Eskişehir.
Among those detained were journalists Erdoğan Alayumat and Bilge Aksu in İstanbul, Roza Metina, head of the Mesopotamian Women Journalists’ Association (MKG), and Ahmet Sümbül in Diyarbakır, as well as journalist Mehmet Uçar in Batman. Director Ardin Diren was also taken into custody in Diyarbakır.
Additionally, journalist Gülcan Dereli’s home was raided while she wasn’t at home and her status remains unclear. Searches at the homes of the detainees were still underway at the time of reporting.
