28 March 2025
Joakim Medin, a correspondent for Dagens ETC, who had come to Turkey to cover the protests that erupted following the detention of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, was taken into custody at Istanbul Airport and subsequently arrested.
28 April 2025
The prosecution prepared a separate indictment against Medin on charges of “membership in an organisation,” “membership in an armed organisation” (Turkish Penal Code, Article 314/2), and “terrorist propaganda” (Anti-Terror Law, Article 7/2-2).
The indictment stated that Medin’s news reports and social media posts included images of organisational flags, photographs of organisation leaders, and visuals of armed groups. Interviews he conducted with organisation leaders were also considered as “organisational activity.”
It further alleged that Medin’s articles published in Dagens ETC on 22 January, 9 March and 2 November 2023 contained terrorist propaganda. Alongside these, his book The Kurdish Revolution and the Fight Against ISIS was also presented as evidence of propaganda through both its content and promotion.
The prosecution argued that Medin’s focus on a specific region in the Middle East, particularly northern Syria, demonstrated “organisational commitment” and claimed that the journalist was “acting on behalf of the organisation under the guise of journalism.”
30 April 2025
In the “insulting the President” case heard at the Ankara 79th Criminal Court of First Instance, Medin was sentenced to 11 months and 7 days in prison. The court deferred the announcement of the verdict (HAGB) and ruled for his release in that case. However, Medin remained in prison due to the ongoing charge of “membership in an armed organisation.”
16 May 2025
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced that Medin had been released and was on his way back to Sweden. He stated that the release was secured thanks to the discreet but effective diplomatic efforts of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its European partners.
25 September 2025
The first hearing of the trial against Swedish journalist Joakim Medin on charges of “membership in an armed organization” was held at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court. The hearing was attended by MLSA Legal Unit lawyers Veysel Ok and Batıkan Erkoç. Swedish Consul General Karin Hernmarck, TGS Chair Gökhan Durmuş, RSF Turkey Representative Erol Önderoğlu, Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT, and PEN Norway also monitored the hearing. Lawyer Veysel Ok requested the court to wait for the response to the letter rogatory issued for Medin’s defense to be taken and demanded the return of the seized digital materials. The court decided to wait for the response to the letter rogatory and to include the digital materials in the case file, adjourning the hearing to 8 January 2026.
