The detention of Sputnik news agency's chief editor in Turkey, Mahir Boztepe by the Turkish security forces has invited a strong response from the Russian Foreign Ministry. The development comes hours after Sputnik's staff at it's Ankara office was apprehended by the security forces.
As per reports, Boztepe was taken from the Istanbul office of Sputnik to the General Directorate of Security.
Sputnik and RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan tweeted that the Turkish police officers arrived at the Istanbul office and detained the Sputnik employees.
As per the Russian news agency, the Turkish police in Ankara has denied having Sputnik employees in custody.
As per Sputnik, on Saturday night, groups of aggressive people, who were shouting nationalist slogans, insults, and threats, tried to force their way into the homes of three Sputnik Turkey employees in Ankara. The attackers tried to break the doors and were shouting "Turkey for Turks," "Traitors," and "Russian spies." The attackers managed to get away before the police arrived. The incident did not result in any injures.
"The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack as a blatant violation of the journalists' rights. According to the ministry, the journalists are currently being held by Turkish security forces. The situation is complicated by the fact that it has not been possible to contact the detained journalists," the Russian news agency reported.
The actions of the Turkish forces have received widespread condemnation. Seven major Turkish journalist organizations have condemned the detention of the Sputnik staff. Reporters Without Borders Organisation also condemned Turkey for its actions.
The agency reported that the police searched its offices on Turkish soil without disclosing any reasons.
Sputnik is a news agency, news website platform and radio broadcast service established by the Russian government-owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya. Headquartered in Moscow, Sputnik says it has regional editorial offices in Washington, D.C., Cairo, Beijing, Paris, Berlin, London, India and Edinburgh.
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