ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish authorities have detained a prominent investigative journalist and four of his colleagues and replaced an elected pro- Kurdish mayor with a state appointee on Wednesday, escalating a recent government crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices.
Critics say the crackdown follows significant losses by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party i n local elections in March as well as growing calls for early national elections. Government officials insist that the courts operate independently and reject claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated.
Investigative journalist Baris Pehlivan was taken under custody late on Tuesday along with Halk TV television channel’s chief editor Serhan Asker and presenter Seda Selek., the station said. The detentions came hours after Halk TV broadcast a recording of a phone conversation that Pehlivan held with an expert employed by courts to provide opinions. Critics accuse the court assessor of providing biased reports against mayors belonging to the country’s main opposition party.
Asker and Selek were released from custody on Wednesday on condition that they regularly report to the police. But almost simultaneously, authorities detained two other journalists from Halk TV — a station that is aligned with the opposition.
The journalists face possible charges of disclosing a private conversation without permission and attempting to influence an expert witness.
Earlier on Wednesday, the government removed Sofya Alagas, the elected mayor of the city of Siirt, from office and appointed the mainly Kurdish-populated region’s governor in her place, citing her recent conviction over terrorism-related charges.
Alagas became the eighth mayor from the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, to be ousted from office over alleged links to Kurdish rebels since the March 31 local elections, the party said.
In the past week, Turkish authorities have also arrested Umit Ozdag, the leader of a far-right opposition party on charges of inciting violence through a series of anti-refugee posts on social media.
Ayse Barim, a talent agent representing prominent Turkish actors, was arrested earlier this week. She has been linked to nationwide anti-government protests that took place in 2013 and is accused of attempting to overthrow the government — an accusation she has strongly denied.
Meanwhile, Ekrem Imamoglu, the popular mayor of Istanbul and a potential candidate to challenge Erdogan in the next elections, is scheduled to give his testimony in investigations that were launched against him over comments he made criticizing a series of probes that were initiated against opposition-run municipalities and have resulted in the arrest of two Istanbul district mayors.
Imamoglu has been sentenced to two years and seven months in prison on charges of insulting members of Turkey’s high electoral board. The mayor faces a political ban if his conviction is upheld by an appeals court.
“There is only one reason for all these illegalities, injustices and unfairness,” Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the main opposition party claimed on Tuesday. “They cannot sleep. The evening of (the) March 31 (local elections) is not forgotten.”
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc meanwhile, denied accusations that the journalists’ detentions were aimed at silencing Halk TV.
“There is no investigation related to journalistic activities. No one in Turkey is detained for their journalistic work,” he said. “In our country, the press is free, and freedom of thought and expression is extensive. However, journalists are not above the law.”
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