Media watchdog denounces arrest of Turkish pro-opposition journalist

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for the release of a Turkish journalist arrested as part of a spying probe into Istanbul's jailed opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.

Turkish authorities seized control of the Tele1 pro-opposition TV channel and shut down its YouTube page last month after arresting its editor-in-chief, Merdan Yanardag.

"Merdan Yanardag has been detained for ten days on charges of 'espionage'," the group said in a statement released on Tuesday, calling for his "immediate release".

"He is now being prosecuted for the fourth time in five years," the statement said, adding that the Constitutional Court had previously awarded the journalist 166,500 lira ($4,000) in damages for his "unlawful detention" in 2023.

RSF's representative in Turkey, Erol Onderoglu, condemned the "absurd charges" and called for "a definitive end to this judicial persecution", which he said was aimed at silencing Yanardag and his channel.

News of Tele1's takeover by a government-appointed trustee was announced by the channel itself last month.

Its broadcasts were quickly stripped of all hard news content in favour of documentaries and health-related programmes, AFP correspondents said.

Twenty journalists have been arrested in Turkey for their work since the start of the year, three of whom are still detained, according to the Paris-based media watchdog.