British reporters jailed in Turkey transferred to new prison

Two British journalists and their translator who were arrested last week in the Turkish southeast on terror-related charges have been transferred to an Adana prison, a lawyer for P24 looking to meet the journalists has learned.
 
During a visit to the Diyarbakır Prison where they hoped to see the Britons, Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury; and their translator on Wednesday, P24 Legal Unit representative Lawyer Veysel Ok and Diyarbakır Bar Association lawyer Erhan Ürküt were told by prison officials that the journalists had been moved to Kürkçüler Prison in Adana province, about 500 km west of Diyarbakır, the night before. The transfer took place because the Diyarbakır D-Type Prison, following recent detentions and arrests, had become too crowded, officials said.
 
The three men’s lawyer had not been notified about the transfer, and found out about it only after a call from P24.
 
The Vice team were in the region reporting on the recent clashes in the Kurdish dominated Turkish southeast which broke shortly after a 2,5-year cease-fire between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) ended.
 
Turkish media earlier reported that the Vice reporters were suspected of abetting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.  P24 Lawyer Ok, who has reviewed the documents from their initial interrogation, said that the reporters had not been asked a single question about ISIS. The three men are being accused of “supporting a terrorist organization without directly being its member,” which most likely refers to the PKK, which has been fighting in the Turkish southeast for more than three decades.
 
Ok said the evidence being used to support the allegations consisted solely of footage and notes taken during the three men’s journalistic work. “There are filmed interviews with the young people who have taken part in the recent clashes, and notes on the history of the Kurdish political movement that they scribbled in their notepads,” Ok said, listing the items that the prosecution is holding against the Britons.
 
Ahmet Ay, a lawyer from the Diyarbakır Bar Association, filed an objection against the arrest decision on Tuesday. Ok said he expected the objection to be reviewed shortly.
 
Ok also stated that the journalists’ transfer to a prison in another province was a rights violation. “The actual legal process is taking place in Diyarbakır, but they were hauled off to Adana. This is unacceptable,” he said.
 
Members of the Vice team was detained on Friday Aug. 28, following an “anonymous tip,” which suggested that the two Britons and their translator might be linked to ISIS.
 
Ok and others in the region say that anonymous tips are a frequent source for police to act on in the region where politically motivated investigations are not uncommon.
 
P24 will be offering pro-bono legal assistance to the Vice reporters throughout the entire legal process.
 
Many international journalism and news organizations and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, PEN International and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had harshly criticized Turkey’s arrest of the Vice journalists.