Swedish journalist Joakim Medin released from Turkish prison

Swedish journalist Joakim Medin has been released from Turkish custody after 51 days of detention.

Joakim Medin was arrested on March 27, 2025, upon arriving in Istanbul to report on protests following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.Turkish authorities charged him with ”insulting the president” and ”membership in a terrorist organization,” citing his alleged connection to a 2023 protest in Stockholm where an effigy of President Erdoğan was displayed. 

On April 30, a Turkish court sentenced Medin to an 11-month suspended prison term for insulting the president. However, he remained detained due to the terrorism charges, which are based on his journalistic work, including articles and social media posts.  Medin has denied involvement in the 2023 protest, stating he was in Germany at the time. 

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced Medin’s release on May 16, attributing it to ”hard work in relative silence” by Sweden’s Foreign Ministry and European partners.  Medin has returned to Sweden, but the terrorism charges remain, and he is expected to be tried in absentia later this year.

Medin has been released pending trial and has been allowed to leave the country. But the question of terrorism charges will still be tried in Turkey in Medin’s absence, according to ETC.

”Now Turkey’s long fingers no longer reach Joakim. He is on his way home. He is saf”e, says Dagens ETC’s editor-in-chief Andreas Gustavsson in Dagens ETC.

Medin’s case has drawn international attention, highlighting concerns over press freedom and the use of anti-terror laws against journalists in Turkey. Press freedom advocates, including Reporters Without Borders, have emphasized the importance of supporting journalists facing politically motivated charges.

The editors

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