Turkish Authorities Detain Two Prominent Journalists on Charges of Blackmail

The arrests of Timur Soykan and Murat Agirel deepen concerns over press freedom in Turkey as allegations link the case to a media ownership dispute.

Journalists Timur Soykan of BirGun and Murat Agirel of Cumhuriyet were detained in Istanbul on charges of making threats and blackmail, allegedly tied to a dispute over the sale of Flash Haber, a television news channel.
Both newspapers and opposition figures claim the charges are politically motivated, aimed at silencing critical reporting on President Erdogan’s government and recent judicial actions.
The arrests follow the March 19 imprisonment of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, which sparked the largest protests in Turkey in over a decade and led to prior detentions of journalists covering the demonstrations.
The journalists' lawyer criticized the timing of the arrests, noting that both had agreed to voluntarily testify, and described the detentions as unlawful.
Soykan, who was scheduled to receive a journalism award the same day, declared that the actions target truth-telling and vowed to continue exposing corruption.