The journalist arrested fears for democracy

It was early on the morning of March 23, when police came to the door of Yasin Akgul in Istanbul – while his children were still in bed. Just hours before, the Turkish photojournalist returned home from covering mass anti -government protests. He was now wanted.

“I went to the door and saw that there was a lot of police,” he says. “They said they had an arrest order for me, but they didn't give me details. My son was awake and I couldn't even tell him what was happening because I didn't get it myself.”

35-year-old Akgul has seen “many actions” for more than a decade as a photojournalist with the AFP News Agency from Syria's torn from the war to Iraq-controlled. On home soil in Turkey, he has been beaten by police several times while taking pictures, he says – including on World Peace Day – and has been detained “so many times.”

But the arrest at home was the first.

“Cold fell over the house,” he tells us. “In my work, during the protests, I saw a lot of violence and tear gas, but as the police in my home I felt more frightened.”

Akgul was one of the seven journalists arrested at dawn raids. Everyone covered the protests caused by the arrest of the mayor of the opposition of the city, Ekrem Imamoglu-the main political rival of Turkey's longtime leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Protesters claim that the mayor's arrest on corruption accusations, which he denies, is politically motivated – an attempt to stop his hopes of becoming the next president of the country.

Authorities banned the protests but failed to stop them.

Akgul is faced with “Participation in Illegal Rallies and Marses”. He says the goal is clear – to stop others from taking pictures of the largest excitement in Turkey for more than a decade.

He was in his dense – a gas mask of – when he took some of the most emblematic images of the night.

His photos show a man dressed as a rotating dervish (dancing mystic), who is scattered by pepper by a line of riots-conservative images of a battle for the soul of Turkey, who used to go behind the bars.

“This message is for all journalists,” he says. “Do not shoot (take pictures), don't talk, don't shoot. They make other journalists fear that if they come back to the field, they could encounter the same thing.” The fact that he works for the international news agency AFP makes this message even stronger, he believes.

He was received and understood.

“After being arrested, many freelance journalists could not shoot the next day. Everyone was afraid,” he said, sitting on his couch at home with his wife Hazal next to him.

Their three -year -old daughter, Ipek, lay on the couch and held her father's hand. Their son, Umut, eight, listened, wearing a hat and Harry Potter -style glasses.

Akgul believes that the arrested were carefully selected – among them experienced photojournalists. “They are trying to remove us from the front lines,” he says.

Many of his friends – fellow journalists – have already removed themselves, leaving Turkey because they are faced with accusations or feared they would do so.

So far, his family is among many who worry that they can be torn apart by the courts. The government says the judiciary is independent. Human rights groups claim that judges are under political control, and Turkish democracy is eroded, year to year.

President Erdogan – who has many loyal supporters – retains a tight grip on the levers of power. He says the protests are “street terrorism” and accuses the opposition to the “violence movement”. He predicts the demonstrations will cancel.

Maybe. Maybe not.

As Yasin Akgul was released from prison on March 27, Mark Lowen of the BBC was deported from Istanbul after 5pm in detention. He received documents saying he was a “threat to public order”.

Later, the authorities said – after the BBC reported the story – he was deported because he lacked accreditation.

Not only journalists are at risk. One of the mayor's own lawyers was briefly detained “for fictitious reasons,” according to a social media publication, which Ekrem Imamoglu sent from his cell in prison with high security.

His legal team is fighting, but they also feel the cold.

“The right to defense, in my opinion, is sacred. This is part of a fair test that your lawyers should feel comfortable and safe,” says Izeze Ginner, who is both a lawyer and an advisor to the mayor.

“It would be a lie to say that no one is worried about being honest,” she tells us, “but we still think we have an obligation on our country to tell the truth, to preserve democracy and the rule of law.”

Where is Turkish democracy now? Some here are afraid to be at his last comprehension.

In the last two weeks or more, since the protests began on March 19 – about 2000 people have been detained, according to the Ministry of Interior of Turkey.

Many are students and members of the generation of Erdogan-Thesis, who only knew the 22-year management of the longtime leader of Turkey. The arrest sends another message.

“This is a huge warning for young people, a strong and clear warning-don't get involved,” says Emma Sinclair-WEB, Turkey's director of Human Rights Watch.

She says the government has also “dumped in all directions against the accepted opposition” by any quarter, not just the People's Party of the Mayor's Republic (CHP), which is the main opposition party here.

“The public authorities are threatened,” she says. “If they speak and use their voice with authority, there is an attempt to suffocate them immediately.”

She expects that the coming months will see continuing attempts to limit the protests and “make them invisible”.

This will not be difficult given the extensive government control over the media here. The huge demonstrations, held so far, did not lead the ballots in state television and pro -government retail outlets, and when they were shown, the protesters were referred to as terrorists.

The most recent rally – last weekend – attracted at least a few hundred thousand peopleS The opposition claims that more than two million people were present.

Some families have brought with them several generations to hear calls for change in the warm sun. We saw the usual heavy presence of the police, but this time there was no tear gas or rubber bullets. This rally was not forbidden.

In the crowd we met with an Alp, at 32, who said he had come to defend democracy while still time. We did not ask for a surname – many protesters prefer not to give their own. He said he was concerned about the risk of arrest.

“Police are gathering students, and women and working people like us,” he said.

“So, we are all in danger right now. But we have to stand up. This is our only choice. If we do nothing, if we just look, the battle is already lost.”

The opposition promises to maintain its protests and its campaign on the street. Press the presidential election to be submitted since 2028.

Opposition surveys suggest that President Erdogan will lose to Imamoglu – if he is released from prison and can run for a candidate.

The president himself should not be able to run – since he is already in his second term – but there is speculation here that he can try to change the constitution.

The opposition insists that there will be weekly protests from now on. If so, it seems certain that the arrests will continue.

It is unclear whether Jasin Akgul's case will go to court, but the charges against him remain. Despite the danger, he hopes to continue to tell the story here.

“Someone has to do this job,” he says, “and I think I'm one of these people.”