Swede Journalist Locked Up in Turkey Over Erdogan Insult Case
Journalist in Sweden found guilty of uttering disrespectful words towards Erdogan - Journalist in Sweden found guilty of Erdogan disparagement
In the heart of Turkey, a Swedish journalist finds himself in a sticky situation - 11 months of suspended imprisonment for supposedly insulting President Erdogan. Amid another trial for terrorism allegations, this journalists stays shackled, according to Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L). Yet, he maintains his innocence.
Kaj Joakim Medin, who pens for the Swedish daily "Dagens ETC", was snatched shortly after touchdown in Istanbul in late March.
The insult charge sprouts from a 2023 Stockholm demonstration where an effigy of Erdogan was suspended from city hall. Medin, as L4L attests, swore he wasn't a partender in the protest, having gallivanted abroad then. He also declared he had no hand in selecting the pictures used in his articles, pictures that were incriminating in the trial. "I never aimed to offend President Erdogan," he stated, as reported by L4L.
Turkey Accuses Medin of Terror Org Ties
Medin is accused of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, alleges the state-run Anadolu news agency. It's said he broadcast "propaganda" for the prohibited Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on social media. Furthermore, authorities reference Medin's reporting from Syria, Iraq, and Turkey's southeast between 2014 and 2017. The trial for this case is still on the schedule.
- Turkey
- Istanbul
- Prison
- Journalist
- Conflict
- The Swedish journalist, Kaj Joakim Medin, working for the Swedish daily "Dagens ETC," is currently imprisoned in Istanbul, Turkey, after 11 months of suspended imprisonment due to an insult charge towards President Erdogan.
- During a 2023 demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden, an effigy of Erdogan was suspended from the city hall, with Medin claiming he was not a participant as he was abroad at the time.
- Medin's employment as a journalist has been in question in Turkey, with authorities accusing him of being affiliated with an armed terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and more charges of broadcasting propaganda for this group on social media.
- Despite ongoing legal battles concerning conflict allegations, the original trial for the insult charge against Medin remains relevant in the general-news and crime-and-justice sectors, with the journalist maintaining his innocence throughout.
