A Turkish court ruled on Thursday to release seven journalists, among them Yasin Akgül, a photographer for Agence France-Presse, who was [arrested](https://www.turkishminute.com/2025/03/25/turkey-braces-for-further-protests-as-7-journalists-arrested4/) earlier this week while covering the extensive protests that have been shaking the nation.
In addition to Akgül, 35, the court ruled to release Now Haber reporter Ali Onur Tosun, photojournalists Bülent Kılıç and Kurtuluş Arı, who works for the İstanbul Municipality, and journalists Zeynep Kuray and Hayri Tunç. They were arrested on Tuesday after days of covering mass protests that erupted on March 19 when İstanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu– President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival — was detained.
The journalists were arrested at their homes before dawn and charged with “taking part in illegal rallies and marches and failing to disperse despite warnings,” court documents showed.
Their release came after their lawyers objected to their pre-trial detention.
Turkey ranks 158 out of 180 countries listed in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index compiled by RSF.
AFP chief executive and chairman Fabrice Fries had slammed imprisonment as “unacceptable.”
Akgül, he stressed, was “not part of the protest” but only covering it as a journalist, and should be swiftly released.
© Agence France-Presse