Türkiye: RSF calls for the immediate release of investigative journalists Timur Soykan and Murat Ağırel
Investigative journalists Timur Soykan and Murat Ağırel were apprehended at their homes on the morning of 10 April by Turkish authorities. Their arrest is part of a wave of detentions targeting the media professionals who have covered the protests against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sparked by the arrest of his main rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate release of both journalists.
Update on 11 April 2025: Journalists Timur Soykan and Murat Ağırel were released under judicial supervision last night, around midnight. They have been deprived of their passports and are required to report to a police station three times a week while awaiting trial.
On the morning of 10 April, Turkish authorities detained investigative journalists Timur Soykan, a columnist for the independent daily BirGün, and Murat Ağırel from the newspaper Cumhuriyet. Both journalists are also prominent figures on the debate program Onlar TV, a recently launched YouTube channel. In the latest episodes, they spoke about alleged irregularities in the investigation targeting Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The Istanbul prosecutor has now charged the journalists with “blackmail” and “insult.” The homes of both journalists were searched and their professional equipment was seized.
These arrests come amid the authorities’ harsh crackdown on media outlets covering the mass protests sparked by the 19 March arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“Timur Soykan and Murat Ağırel must be released immediately. They are clearly being targeted in retaliation for doing their job as journalists: raising legitimate questions about the due process of a judicial affair that is shaking the country. It appears that the searches of the journalists’ affairs were solely intended to identify their sources, who contributed to the reports they brought to light. News professionals must never be punished informing the public, which their job.
Turkish authorities have been targeting journalists and media outlets since the beginning of the protest movement sparked by the events of 19 March. In addition to Timur Soykan and Murat Agirel, at least 10 journalists have been detained during these demonstrations. Joakim Medin, the special correspondent for the Swedish outlet Dagens ETC, remains in custody.
