Israeli soldiers arrive to detain the Turkish reporters during a live broadcast. Photo: CNN Turk/Screenshot.
The Turkish government, opposition and rights groups have called on Israel to release two Turkish journalists who were detained by Israeli forces in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
Emrah Cakmak, a journalist with CNN’s Turkish TV channel, CNN Turk, and his camera operator, Halil Kahraman, were seized in a live broadcast while covering Iranian missile strikes on Tel Aviv.
“We are taking the necessary steps to ensure the immediate release of our journalist colleagues and are following the matter with sensitivity,” Burhanettin Duran, director of communications at the Turkish Presidency, said.
According to the Times of Israel, Israeli security forces detained the two journalists as they were broadcasting live outside Israeli Defence Forces, IDF’s Kirya military headquarters.
During the live broadcast, the journalists were approached by soldiers who seized Cakmak’s phone.
The Times of Israel reported that when the officers ordered them to identify themselves, the reporters presented expired press ID cards and were detained for interrogation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP also demanded the immediate release of the journalists.
“The detention of CNN Turk reporter Emrah Cakmak and cameraman Halil Kahraman by Israeli forces is an attack on press freedom. This detention order is unacceptable. The journalists must be released immediately,” AKP spokespoerson Omer Celik said on Tuesday.
Turkey’s main opposition leader, Ozgur Ozel, joined the calls. “We strongly condemn this unlawful practice against our journalists and expect it to be rectified immediately,” Ozel said.
Turkish journalists’ organisations called on Israel to respect the freedom of the press.
“Journalism is a fundamental element of democratic societies, ensuring the public’s access to accurate and timely information. However, journalists, especially those working in war and conflict zones, face serious risks; they are injured and lose their lives,” the Turkish Journalists’ Association, TGC, said on Tuesday.
“Journalism is not a crime; it is an activity carried out in the public interest, and journalists must be protected,” it added.
Israel and the US started a large-scale air campaign against the Iranian regime on February 28, to which Iran has responded with missiles targeting Israel and US bases in the Middle East.
Turkey has called on all sides to end the conflict. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also expressed condolences about the weekend killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Israeli strike, ending his 36-year rule.
CNN Turk is a local affiliate of the US channel CNN. It broadcasts exclusively for Turkey and is owned by the government-linked Demiroren Group under licensing from Warner Bros Discovery’s EMEA division.
