- Medina's jailing came just hours after authorities released the last of 11 journalists arrested in Monday morning raids for covering the protests.
Istanbul: A Swedish journalist detained on arrival in Turkey to cover protests against the jailing of Istanbul's mayor has been arrested on terrorism-related charges and for “insulting the president,” Turkey's presidency said on Sunday.
Joakim Medin, an employee of the newspaper Dagens ETC, “was arrested on charges of 'membership in an armed terrorist organization' and 'insulting the president,'” the presidential administration said.
Medin was detained on Thursday when his plane landed in Turkey and sent to prison the next day.
In a bulletin published by the Center for Combating Disinformation, the presidential administration said Medin was “known for his anti-Turkish news and his closeness to the PKK terrorist organization,” a banned Kurdish militant group.
“This decision to arrest has nothing to do with journalistic activity,” it added.
Medina's jailing came just hours after authorities released the last of 11 journalists arrested in Monday morning raids for covering the protests, including AFP photographer Yasin Akgul.
Turkish authorities also deported BBC journalist Mark Lowen, who was covering the protests, after holding him in custody for 17 hours on Wednesday, saying he posed a “threat to public order,” the broadcaster said.
Turkey's Communications Directorate said Lowen was deported “due to lack of accreditation.”
Turkish prosecutors have already launched an investigation into Medina in 2023 over a demonstration he attended in Stockholm where a puppet of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hanged by his feet, the president said on Sunday.
The statement said the Swedish journalist was among 15 suspects believed to have held, organised or promoted the demonstration.
The protest angered Turkish authorities, who said it was organised by PKK members and summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara.
