Daily Times

Turkish authorities said Sunday they arrested a Swedish journalist dispatched to cover ongoing nationwide protests on charges of terrorism and insulting the president. Joakim Medin of the daily Dagens ETC was detained as he arrived at Istanbul airport on Thursday and placed under arrest on Friday on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “insulting the president.” The Counter Disinformation Center, part of the Turkish Presidency´s Communications Department, said in a statement that Medin’s arrest was “not over his journalism activities.” The Center accused Medin of taking part in a rally in Stockholm on January 11, 2023 attended by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers´ Party, or PKK, which included an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The PKK has waged a 40-year insurgency in Turkey which has cost tens of thousands of lives and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.