Rawin Sterk Yıldız was arrested yesterday after being detained at the Edirne border while reporting the plight of the Syrian refugees trying to cross to Greece.

Yıldız is working for Rudaw
The government is accusing the reporter of “publishing terrorist organization propaganda.”

Yıldız was brought to Ankara for his questioning and court hearing.

Journalist was reporting on how the refugees were being transported to the border when he was detained on February 29, 2020.

Yıldız was kept at the TEM department, the police unit to fight terrorism. After his questioning was completed yesterday morning the reporter was transferred to the courts for his official statement. There, after his statement the prosecutor asked for his arrest and the journalist was taken to the punitive court where with the orders of the court he was arrested.

Yıldız maintained during his questioning and statement that he was performing his duties as a journalist and a reporter. He also insisted that his social media posts and shares were only in the capacity of a reporter. However, he was arrested and taken to the Sincan prison in Ankara province.

Yıldız’s attorney informed that his arrest came on top of his previous investigation from another case. However, his arrest mostly resulted from his social media posts where he mentioned Turkey’s recent invasion and war against Syria. Until the president himself casually called the invasion “war” it was illegal for the press or anybody else to use the word “was” or “invasion” in Turkey in the context of Turkey’s incursion into neighboring Syria. The prosecutor, reportedly, persistently asked about the reporter’s knowledge behind his news items where the number of Turkish troops were crossing over to Syria were mentioned.

Sendika.Org News (M.B.)