A crew of Turkish state TRT broadcaster was briefly detained in the city of Alexandroupolis, Northern Greece, late Saturday. A cameraman, a reporter and a transportation officer were detained and held in a police station for three hours before they were released.
The group had some test shootings in the area and set to return to their hotel when Greek police stopped their car and detained them without showing them an arrest warrant, the crew told TRT new program. Speaking of “rude police behavior” they said that they were underwent body check, while there was no explanation for the detention. “They put us on the floors in separate cars and seized out vehicle,” they added.
The journalists said that they were held for 3 hours, each one in a separate room where they underwent questions.
“We asked why we were detained and they told us something funny, that they just did a routine check,” reporter reporter Fatih Sabuncu told TRT. He added that the detention was “arbitrary” and not because they were doing something that they were not allowed to.
They were released three hours later.
According to Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu:
Cameraman Ufuk Karagul, reporter Fatih Sabuncu and transportation officer Metin Talu were taken in custody for doing test stream on the occasion of the second anniversary of Turkey’s 2016 defeated coup.
The trio was released three and half hours later.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Sabuncu said they were detained without any reason and held in the police station without any interrogation.
“I worked in many countries, but I have not seen such a treatment in the countries you would call the worst of the world. I regret it,” Sabuncu said.
Sabuncu said being exposed to such a treatment in a European country was shocking.
On July 15, Turkey will be marking the second anniversary of the defeated coup attempt which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
According to the Turkish government, the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, anadolu concludes its report on the incident.
Other Turkish media report that Karagul and Sabuncu were released intervention by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Tsavusoglu.
“I worked in many countries, but I have not seen such a treatment in the countries you would call the worst of the world. I regret it,” Sabuncu said.
We all know that this “press agency” is state owned and has been accused of being used by MIT to find and film “Gulenists” abroad prior to them being kidnapped and taken back to Turkey.
As for treatment of the press perhaps the “journalists” should remember it is their country that has imprisoned thousands of national and International journalists for reasons a lot less than they were stopped.