A Turkish journalist who spent nearly eight months in Syrian custody after being detained while covering fighting in Raqqa was jailed pending trial after Syrian authorities transferred him to Turkey.

Ahmet Polad, the pen name of Turkish citizen Mehmet Nizam Aslan, was transferred to Turkey on September 9 and sent to İstanbul’s Metris Prison after appearing in court on Friday, the Etkin News Agency (ETHA) reported.

Polad is a writer for ETHA and a presenter for Özgür TV who has reported from Kurdish-held areas of northeastern Syria since 2016.

Reports announcing his imprisonment did not identify the charge against him or explain the legal basis for the court’s decision.

Turkish officials have not publicly commented on his transfer or imprisonment.

Polad was detained along with German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann on the night of January 18-19 while reporting from Raqqa as Syrian government forces advanced into territory then controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Witnesses later told his lawyers that Syrian government forces separated Polad and Michelmann from other civilians and took them away in a military vehicle.

Their whereabouts were unknown for weeks before witnesses said they had seen them in a prison in Aleppo.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Syrian authorities to disclose their whereabouts and legal status after officials initially denied having information about their detention.

Michelmann was released on June 19 after 152 days in custody and returned to Germany, while Polad continued to be detained in Syria.

Syrian authorities later referred to a person detained with Michelmann as a senior member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) but did not name that person or provide an indictment, court file or evidence, Polad’s lawyers said.

His lawyers rejected any attempt to portray Polad as a PKK member and said he had been working as a journalist.

The PKK, which began an armed campaign against the Turkish state in 1984, is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.

Polad’s father was contacted by İstanbul police on Friday and told that his son had been handed over to Turkey, according to the Eva and Ahmet Freedom Initiative.

The family briefly saw Polad before he was taken to prison and said he told them he had been subjected to torture during his eight months in Syrian custody and had been on a hunger strike for an extended period of time.

The initiative said he appeared weak and exhausted and called for his immediate transfer to a hospital for treatment.

The torture allegations have not been independently verified, and Syrian authorities have not publicly responded to them.

Polad’s transfer comes against the backdrop of continuing concern over press freedom in Turkey, where journalists working for Kurdish and opposition outlets have faced arrest and prosecution, often under counterterrorism laws.

Turkey ranked 163rd among 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which says counterterrorism laws and other criminal provisions are regularly used against journalists.