Turkey formally arrests journalist over posts on personal information leak

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish authorities jailed a journalist on Tuesday pending trial after he introduced hackers had stolen private data from authorities web sites and shared a few of it with him, together with President Tayyip Erdogan’s ID card, as proof, his lawyer mentioned.

The impartial journalist, Ibrahim Haskologlu, posted the announcement on Twitter, illustrating it with {a partially} obscured photograph of what he mentioned was Erdogan’s ID.

His lawyer, Emrah Karatay, mentioned his shopper was arrested on a cost of illegally acquiring and disseminating private data because of his social media posts.

In his Twitter posts final week, Haskologlu mentioned {that a} group of hackers had contacted him two months in the past and advised him that that they had obtained Turks’ private data from authorities web sites.

In addition to sharing the purported photograph of Erdogan’s ID, Haskologlu additionally printed a picture of what he mentioned was the ID card of Hakan Fidan, head of Turkey’s Nationwide Intelligence Company. Many of the data on the playing cards was hid.

“The rationale for his formal arrest was that he didn’t notify prosecutors,” Karatay mentioned, including that Haskologlu had warned varied authorities however no motion was taken.

“He thought he needed to warn individuals as a journalist and posted these. Now he is arrested – that is all,” Karatay mentioned, including that police had searched Haskologlu’s home once they detained him final night time.

Istanbul police was not instantly obtainable for remark.

Broadcaster NTV mentioned the inside ministry had filed a criticism about Haskologlu after his posts, prompting an investigation by the Istanbul prosecutor’s workplace.

Turkey is without doubt one of the world’s prime jailers of journalists and mainstream media is managed by these near Erdogan’s authorities. Turkey’s authorities denies accusations by human rights teams that it muzzles the media.

(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen, Modifying by William Maclean)