Message from İsmail Arı: I was arrested on suspicion of absconding, even though I went to the police station of my own accord

Our reporter İsmail Arı, who was taken into custody at the Ankara Police Headquarters—where he had gone of his own accord to give a statement following a complaint by former RTÜK Chairman Ebubekir Şahin—and who was remanded in custody by the magistrate’s court on 21 October, has issued a message from the prison where he is being held. In his message, Arı highlighted that he had been remanded in custody on the grounds of “suspicion of absconding”, stating: “I love this country and its people very much. That is why I will not flee my country. I will continue to defend journalism.” Our reporter had also been remanded in custody last March and spent 75 days in prison.