Turkiye detains 10 journalists including AFP photographer: NGO

Turkish police on Monday detained 10 journalists including an AFP photographer after covering violent protests in Istanbul and elsewhere against the jailing of the city’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, an NGO said.

“[A total of] 10 journalists were detained this morning in different cities in police operations related to their coverage of protests” in Istanbul and other cities, rights group MLSA said in a statement.

Earlier on Monday, Reuters reported quoting a statement by the Journalists Union of Turkiye that nine journalists had been arrested after covering the protests.

It was not immediately clear why the journalists were detained.

A Turkish court on Sunday jailed Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, pending trial on corruption charges in a move that triggered the country’s biggest protests in more than a decade.

Despite bans on street gatherings in many cities, mostly peaceful anti-government demonstrations were held for a fifth night in a row on Sunday.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) have been calling for protests against the court decision on Imamoglu, which they label as politicised and undemocratic.

The government denies that the investigations are politically motivated and says the courts are independent.

Imamoglu has denied the charges he faces as “unimaginable accusations and slanders” and called for nationwide protests.

In an address to the demonstration in Istanbul’s Sarachane district in front of the municipality building, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said on Sunday that they would continue the protests until Imamoglu was released.