Turkish authorities detained four journalists Friday morning in police raids on their homes in İstanbul, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing the T24 news website.
Semra Pelek, a former member of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA); Ozan Cırık, a journalist with Sendika.org; Melisa Efe, a translator for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; and Dicle Baştürk, a freelance journalist, were detained on allegations of links to an illegal organization. The case file is currently under a confidentiality order; however, the detentions were carried out on orders of the Artvin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The detained journalists will be transferred to northeastern Turkey’s Artvin province after a routine medical examination.
The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) issued a statement on social media criticizing the detentions and emphasizing that journalism is not a crime.
Turkey, which is one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists according to press freedom organizations, dropped to 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in early May.
Turkish authorities frequently use broad counterterrorism laws and insult charges to prosecute members of the press.