Police in Istanbul took at least five photojournalists into custody in home raids conducted on the morning of March 24, 2025: Yasin Akgül of Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Ali Onur Tosun of NOW Haber, along with freelancers Bülent Kılıç, Zeynep Kuray, and Hayri Tunç. All were detained following the protests which erupted following the imprisonment of Istanbul’s opposition Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in late March 2025. Two other photographers employed by the opposition municipalities of Istanbul were also taken into custody.
The journalists were charged and released March 26 by a court pending trial. They face up to three years in jail for violating the law on gatherings and demonstrations. In the indictment, reviewed by CPJ, prosecutors argue 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. A trial date for the five journalists has not been set.
CPJ’s email requesting comment from the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office did not receive a reply.