Felat Bozarslan / Diyarbakır, Sep 3 () - Two Vice News journalists and their assistant who were arrested in Turkey on terror-related charges have been transferred to a prison more than 500 kilometers away from their lawyers and the courthouse where they face trial, a lawyer said Sept. 3.
The two British journalists, correspondent Jake Hanrahan and cameraman Philip Pendlebury, and their Turkey-based assistant were detained last week in Diyarbakır, the main city in Turkey's mostly Kurdish southeast, where renewed fighting has killed scores of people.
A court ordered the three formally arrested late on Aug. 30 on charges of aiding a terror organization. All three have rejected the accusation.
The three were detained after filming in an area of Diyarbakır where Kurdish youths frequently clash with security forces. Their arrests have prompted strong protests from media rights advocates, the U.S. and the European Union.
Vice News is a New York-based news channel that produces documentaries, breaking news reports and investigative pieces.
The arrests come amid a surge in government crackdowns on media freedoms in Turkey. Authorities frequently use vague anti-terrorism or libel laws to prosecute journalists, although international journalists have rarely been prosecuted in recent years. Several prominent Turkish journalists have been fired under government pressure, while access to websites is frequently blocked.
