Turkey Detains Journalists as Opposition Crackdown Intensifies

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey detained three journalists from opposition-linked Halk TV over their coverage of a legal investigation into Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, intensifying a recent crackdown on dissenting voices.

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Earlier this week, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office accused opposition CHP’s mayor Imamoglu of targeting an expert witness in a speech after he publicly named the individual who had prepared multiple reports scrutinizing opposition-run municipalities.

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Halk TV managing director Serhan Asker, presenter Seda Selek and journalist Baris Pehlivan were detained for reporting the expert’s name and publishing a recording of their phone conversation with him, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The three journalists face charges of “attempting to influence the expert” and “intercepting and recording conversations between individuals.”

Turkey is already among the world’s top jailers of journalists and a series of judicial cases against media members and political figures from the country’s opposition raise concern over the rule of law in the country.

The detentions follow the arrest of Umit Ozdag, the leader of a small nationalist party and a vocal critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, last week. Ozdag’s lawyer, Kahraman Berk, said that the case against him is politically motivated.

More: Turkey Jails Nationalist Party Leader in Opposition Clampdown

Separately, the mayor of the southeastern Siirt province, a member of the pro-Kurdish DEM party, was removed from office after being sentenced on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.

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--With assistance from Selcan Hacaoglu.

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