Turkey: Journalists detained reporting on earthquake aftermath
Journalists in Turkey covering the aftermath of two powerful earthquakes that occurred on 6 February with their epicenter in Kahramanmaraş, affecting ten provinces, have reported police officers trying to block their work and at least four journalists have been detained and released while reporting on the earthquake.
On 8 February the Turkish government declared State of Emergency in the affected provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Diyarbakır, Adana, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Malatya and Hatay.
Some journalists in Diyarbakır reported that they were prevented from taking images in the region by police officers demanding that they show press cards issued by the presidential communications office.
Between 6 February and 9 February, at least four journalists in the earthquake region were detained.
On 7 February, Evrensel daily’s Adana correspondent Volkan Pekal was detained by police officers while filming at Adana City Hospital on charges of shooting “without permission”. He was released from the police department later on. The journalist said the police had that the filming ban was the result of a “ verbal order.”
On 8 February, Mesopotamia Agency (MA) correspondent Mahmut Altıntaş and Jin News Agency correspondent Sema Çağlak were detained on the basis that they didn’t have an official press card issued by the presidency’s communications directorate. Shortly after the release of the two journalists, MA correspondent Mehmet Gülaş was detained in Diyarbakır on charges of “inciting the public to hatred.”
Several journalists have tweeted about similar attempts to prevent their work in the region: