Istanbul police took NOW Haber reporter Ali Onur Tosun into custody along with four photojournalists—including Yasin Akgül of Agence France-Presse (AFP) and freelancers Bülent Kılıç, Zeynep Kuray, and Hayri Tunç—during a series of home raids on March 24, 2025, after covering protests following the imprisonment of Istanbul’s opposition Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in late March 2025. A court released them on March 26 pending trial.
The journalists face up to three years in jail on charges violating the law on gatherings and demonstrations. In the indictment, reviewed by CPJ, prosecutors argued that the journalists were participating in an illegal meeting as protesters. Photographs in which their press credentials and cameras were not visible were submitted as evidence to support this charge.
The first hearing of their trial with a total of 99 defendants was heard by an Istanbul court on April 19. The court separated the case of the five photojournalists alongside seven other defendants from the main case.
CPJ’s email requesting comment from the chief prosecutor’s office in Istanbul did not receive a reply.