A Swedish journalist, Joakim Medin, has been formally arrested in Turkey on terror-related charges and for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish presidency announced on Sunday.
Medin, who reports for Sweden’s Dagens ETC newspaper, was taken into custody upon his arrival in Turkey to cover demonstrations against the imprisonment of Istanbul’s mayor.
Authorities detained Medin on Thursday when his flight landed and subsequently transferred him to prison the following day.
According to a statement from Turkey’s Disinformation Combat Centre, Medin is accused of “membership in an armed terrorist organisation” and “insulting the president.”
The statement further claimed that Medin is “known for anti-Turkey news and his closeness to the terrorist organisation PKK,” referring to the banned Kurdish militant group.
“This arrest decision has no connection whatsoever to journalistic activities,” the presidency asserted in its bulletin.
The journalist’s detention comes shortly after Turkish authorities released the last of 11 reporters, including AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, who had been arrested earlier in the week for covering the protests.
Meanwhile, BBC journalist Mark Lowen, who was also reporting on the demonstrations, was deported following a 17-hour detention on Wednesday.
Turkey’s communications directorate justified the move by stating that Lowen lacked proper accreditation and posed “a threat to public order,” according to the broadcaster.
Medin had already been under scrutiny by Turkish prosecutors since 2023 for his alleged involvement in a controversial demonstration in Stockholm.
During the protest, a puppet of Erdogan was hung upside down, an act that provoked strong condemnation from Turkish officials.
The presidency’s statement on Sunday indicated that Medin was one of 15 individuals suspected of either organizing, participating in, or promoting the demonstration, which Turkish authorities have linked to PKK supporters. Sweden’s ambassador to Ankara was summoned at the time in response to the protest.
Medin’s arrest has further intensified concerns over press freedom in Turkey, particularly in relation to journalists covering politically sensitive issues.
