A Swedish journalist arrested in Turkey and jailed for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been set free, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Friday.
“Swedish journalist Joakim Medin is on his way home from Turkey to Sweden,” Kristersson posted on X, adding the 40-year-old would “land in a few hours.”
“I would like to thank the staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who, under the leadership of Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard, have worked intensively on this issue. I would also like to thank my European colleagues who have been helpful in the process.”
Medin works for the Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC and was stopped upon his arrival in Istanbul on March 27.
Journalist went to cover protests triggered by Istanbul mayor arrest
The reporter traveled to Turkey to cover the protests sparked by the arrest on March 19 of the Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Imamoglu was resoundingly re-elected as Istanbul mayor for the third time last year. The center-left CHP party has now designated him as its candidate for the race despite his detention.
Nearly 1,900 people have been arrested in the protests. The Turkish government has also continued its crackdown on the press amid the demonstrations.
Terrorism charges added
Medin was given an 11-month suspended sentence at an Ankara court for “insulting the president,” adding terrorism to the charges.
Despite the punishment being suspended, Medin had to stay behind bars while awaiting a different trial for “belonging to a terror organization.”
Medin refuted the charges that he took part in a protest by the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) in Stockholm in January 2023.
The PKK this month announced it would disband and end its armed insurgency against Turkey.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
