Journalist arrests fuel fears for democracy

His children were still in bed when the police came to the door of Yasin Akgul in Istanbul early in the morning on March 23. Only a few hours ago, Turkish photo journalists returned home without dealing with a large amount of anti -government protests. Now he was the one who wanted.

“I went to the door and saw many police,” he said. “They said they were ordered by me, but they didn’t give me details. My son was awake, and I couldn’t tell what happened because I couldn’t get it myself.”

AKGUL at the age of 35 has seen “many actions” from Syria, where the war began to IS control Iraq for more than 10 years. In Türkiye’s home soil, he said he was beaten by the police several times while taking a picture and was “detained” several times, including World Peace Day.

But it was the first to be arrested at home.

“I fell over a cold house,” he tells us. “In my work, I was afraid of a lot of violence and gas, but I was more afraid of taking the police home.”

AKGUL is one of the seven journalists arrested for early morning attacks. Demonstrators were being demonstrated due to the arrest of the city’s opposition mayor of Ekrem IMAMOGLU, a major political rival of Turkey’s old leader, Recep Tayyip.

The protesters say they have been politically motivated by the market arrest for corrupt corruption.

The authorities banned protests but could not stop them.

Akgul is faced with “participation in illegal meetings and marching.” He is obvious -his goal is to prevent others from taking the greatest anxiety in Türkiye for more than 10 years.

He was inside the thick when he took some of the most symbolic images of the night.

His photograph shows a man dressed in a whirlpool with pepper by a riot police. It made the image of the battle for the Turkish soul that travels around the world.

“This message is for all journalists,” he says. “Don’t shoot, don’t say, don’t shoot. They’re afraid that other journalists can face the same thing when they go back to the scene.” The fact that he is working at AFP, an international carrier, makes the message bigger.

It was received and understood.

“After we were arrested, many freelance journalists could not shoot the next day. Everyone was afraid.”

Their three -year -old daughter, Ipek, laid on the couch to hold his father’s hand. Their son Umut (8 years old) wore Harry Potter -style hats and glasses.

Akgul thinks that the arrested people were carefully chosen. Among them, he is a seasoned photo journalist. “They are trying to get rid of us from the forefront,” he said.

His friends -fellow journalists have already removed themselves, and Turkey left Turkey because he faced or feared prosecution.

His family is now worried that he can be torn by the court. The government says the judiciary is independent. Human rights groups say judges are under political control and Turkish democracy is eroded year by year.

Loyal supporters, President Erdogan keeps a solid grip on the means of power. He says the protests are “distance terror” and “the movement of violence”. He predicted that the protests would disappear.

maybe. Perhaps not.

When Yasin Akgul was released in prison on March 27, the BBC’s Mark Lowen was expelled from Istanbul after 17 hours of detention. He received a paper as “threat to public order.”

The authorities later said they were expelled because they had no recognition after reporting this story.

It is not just journalists who are in danger. According to a social media post from his cell in a high security prison, ekrem imamoglu, one of the mayor’s own lawyers was briefly detained in “virtual basis.”

His legal team fights, but they feel cold.

“The right to defense is sacred, and it is part of a fair trial that the lawyer feels comfortable and safe.

“It would be a lie to say that nobody was worried and honest.” She tells us. But we still believe that we are obliged to speak to our country and to preserve democracy and the rule of law. “

Where are Turkish democracy standing now? Some are afraid that it is in the last bluff.

According to Türkiye’s Ministry of Home Affairs, about 2,000 people have been detained since the last two weeks -protests began on March 19.

Many of them are students who know only the 22 -year rules of Turkish leaders and students of the Erdogan generation. If you arrest them, you send another message.

“This is a big warning for young people, and a big warning is a big and clear warning for young people.”

She also said that the government is also disappearing in all directions for perceived opposition parties, as well as the People’s Party (CHP) of the mayor of the mayor, which is the main opposition party.

“Public institutions are threatened,” she says. “If they speak and use their voice as authority, there is an attempt to immediately suppress them.”

She expects to limit protests for the next few months and continue to “invisible” attempts.

Given the extensive control of the government’s media, it will not be difficult. The huge protests that have been held so far have not led the bulletin board in the state TV and pro -government stores, and when they showed, the protesters were called terrorists.

Most recent rally -last weekend- At least hundreds of thousands of people. The opposition party insisted that more than 2 million people attended.

Some families have heard of changes under the warm sun. We saw the existence of a general heavy police, but this time there was no tear gas or rubber bullet. This rally was not banned.

We met 32 ​​-year -old ALP, and he still said he came to defend democracy for time. We did not demand sex. Many protesters prefer to give them to them. He said he is concerned about the risk of arrest.

“The police are gathering students and women with women,” he said, “he said,” he said.

“So we all are in danger right now. But we must stand up. That’s our only choice. If we don’t do anything, we just lost the battle.”

The opposition party promises to continue campaigns on protests and streets. The presidential election has been raised since 2028.

According to an opposition poll, President Erdogan will defeat Imamoglu.

The president must not run away as if he is already in his second term. But there is speculation that the Constitution can be changed.

The opposition party claims that there will be protests every week. If so, I’m sure the arrest will continue.

It is not clear whether the case of Yasin Akgul will be trial, but there is a suspicion. Despite the danger, he wants to keep talking here.

“Someone must do this. And I think it’s one of them.”