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Swedish journalist arrested in Turkey facing 'false' accusations: wife

AFP
AFP - news@thelocal.se
Swedish journalist arrested in Turkey facing 'false' accusations: wife
People listen to speeches during a rally called by Republican People's Party or (CHP) against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 29, 2025
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Accusations against Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, detained in Turkey for alleged "terrorism", are "false," his wife, Sofie Axelsson, told AFP on Sunday.

Medin was detained Thursday in Istanbul, where he arrived to cover the wave of protests in the country following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. The journalist was incarcerated on Friday.

"I was able to send him a message through the lawyer and I had a message back," Axelsson said. "He is treated well, (but) a little bit bored."

Turkish authorities accuse Medin, who is reporting for the newspaper Dagens ETC, of membership of a terrorist organisation and "insulting the president", Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They notably accuse him of taking part in a demonstration by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Stockholm in January 2023 during which a puppet representing Erdogan was mocked.

However, Axelsson said, "The accusations are false, he is a journalist, nothing else."

"He has been reporting on the country (Turkey) for many years, mainly on democracy and human rights," she added.

Andreas Gustavsson, editor-in-chief at the Dagens ETC newspaper, also dismissed the accusations against Medin.  

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"The accusations are absurd," he told told AFP in a written message. "Great efforts are being made to ensure that he is released and can return home to his family and to his colleagues at Dagens ETC." 

Medin's jailing came just hours after the authorities released the last of 11 journalists arrested in dawn raids on Monday for covering the protests, among them AFP photographer Yasin Akgul.

Turkish authorities have also deported BBC journalist Mark Lowen, who had been covering the protests, after holding him for 17 hours on Wednesday, saying he posed "a threat to public order", the broadcaster said.

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