Duvar correspondent Cesur, journalist Takva temporarily detained near Turkey-Iran border

Duvar English

Turkish gendarmerie on Sept. 28 detained Gazete Duvar correspondent Kadir Cesur and journalist Ruşen Takva in the eastern Van province for allegedly violating a military security zone.

Accordingly, Cesur and Takva were visiting the Özalp district of the eastern Van province near the Iranian border to follow the repercussions of the decision of the Iranian government to deport Afghan refugees.

“We went to Özalp (district) with my colleague Ruşen Takva to investigate refugee crossings at the Iran-Turkey border. We stopped in front of a shack that looked like a shepherd's tent just beyond a village in the district. A few military personnel came out of the tent and said that this was a 'military security zone'. However, we were about three kilometers behind the borderline and there were no warning signs,” Cesur said.

“We told them that we did not know this was a restricted area and that we could go back. However, the officer informed their superiors and suddenly a large number of soldiers, including the battalion commander, came. After we were kept there for a long time, gendarmerie teams arrived and we were taken to the station,” he added.

At the station, Cesur was asked if he had taken any shots with the camera. In response, he said he never turned on his camera

The authorities confiscated Cesur’s camera and memory card by decision of the prosecutor's office.

After their statements, both Cesur and Takva were released.

The Dicle Fırat Journalists' Association (DFG) deemed their detention and the confiscation “unlawful.”