![The Republic monument in Antalya, Turkey in March 2018. Turkish authorities detained for several hours on May 28 journalist Ali Ergin Demirhan on suspicion that he made "propaganda for a [terrorist] organization," according to reports. (Reuters/Murad Sezer)](https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/6bb2d89d39b4d7888593db530c31f98d6a6bf6f5.jpg?w=750)
Journalist detained
Istanbul police on May 28 detained an editor for the leftist news website Sendika, Ali Ergin Demirhan, at the website’s office on suspicion of “making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization,” in relation to the journalist’s work, his employer reported.
Demirhan was released the same day after 2-3 hours in police detention during which he was questioned by local prosecutors, according to the same report. He has not been charged, Sendika reported.
After his release, the journalist said on Twitter that he was questioned about his article, “We can stop the dictatorship,” and several of his social media posts that were criticial of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government.
Journalist sued over column
A privately owned Turkish company is suing Çiğdem Toker, an economics columnist for the opposition daily Cumhuriyet, for 1.5 million Turkish liras (U.S.$332,197) in damages over a column alleging the company’s involvement in corrupt government subway construction bids, the journalist wrote in a tweet on May 25.
In January, another company in the same business holding sued Toker for 1.5 million Turkish liras in damages relating to another of her columns that alleged the company’s involvement in irregular export practices of tomatoes to Russia, according to a post from Toker on Twitter. The trial is ongoing, Cumhuriyet reported.