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Turkey detains BBC journalist reporting on mine disaster Turkey detains BBC journalist reporting on mine disaster
(about 11 hours later)
Turkish authorities have detained a journalist working for the BBC’s Turkish-language service in the south-east of the country. Turkish authorities have freed a reporter for the BBC’s Turkish-language service after holding her for a day without explanation, the broadcaster said.
Hatice Kamer was held while reporting on a mine disaster in the Kurdish-dominated Siirt region that left 10 miners dead, BBC Türkçe said. Hatice Kamer was detained on Saturday while reporting on a copper mine disaster in the Kurdish-dominated Siirt region of the south-east that left 11 miners dead and five missing, BBC Türkçe said in a statement on its website. Kamer had been trying to talk to relatives of the miners.
Its statement said Kamer had been trying to talk to relatives of the miners at the copper mine, which collapsed on 17 November. Rescue efforts are continuing, with six people still missing. BBC Türkçe said she had been held overnight at the Siirt police HQ and was in a good condition, but there was still no explanation of why Kamer had been detained.
There had been no explanation of the reason for her detention, it added, and no comment from Turkish officials. The German broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), which Kamer also works for, said it had learnt from the journalist that she “is accused of having supported the terrorist organisation PKK through her reporting”.
BBC Türkçe said Kamer was a board member for the association of journalists in south-east Turkey. “She was told that she would have to stand trial,” said WDR after speaking to Kamer by phone. The 39-year-old journalist said there was no evidence to back the allegations, according to WDR.
Dozens of journalists have been detained in Turkey under the state of emergency in the wake of the failed coup on 15 July. Critics say the scope of the crackdown goes far beyond measures against the suspected coup plotters and is targeting any critic of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Dozens of journalists have been detained in Turkey under the state of emergency in the wake of the failed coup on 15 July. Critics say the crackdown goes far beyond measures against the suspected coup plotters and is targeting opponents of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
According to the Platform for Independent Journalism website, 145 journalists are behind bars in Turkey, which is ranked 151st of 180 countries in the 2016 World Press Freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders. According to the Platform for Independent Journalism website, there are now 145 journalists behind bars in Turkey, several from the Kurdish-majority south-east, where the outlawed PKK, or Kurdistan Workers’ party, is waging a deadly insurgency. AFP Istanbul.
Mahir Zeynalov, a US-based Turkish journalist who has drawn attention to the widespread detention of his colleagues, tweeted:Mahir Zeynalov, a US-based Turkish journalist who has drawn attention to the widespread detention of his colleagues, tweeted:
Turkish authorities detain VOA & BBC reporters, adding to 145 journalists already in jails in Turkey -world's largest prison for journalistsTurkish authorities detain VOA & BBC reporters, adding to 145 journalists already in jails in Turkey -world's largest prison for journalists
Ten staff from the anti-Erdoğan Cumhuriyet daily were arrested earlier this month, causing an international outcry. Several of the journalists under arrest are from the Kurdish-majority south-east where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) is waging a deadly insurgency against the military.Ten staff from the anti-Erdoğan Cumhuriyet daily were arrested earlier this month, causing an international outcry. Several of the journalists under arrest are from the Kurdish-majority south-east where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) is waging a deadly insurgency against the military.