CNN International reporter ‘detained, kicked’ in Istanbul on air

ISTANBUL

Riot police detain Ivan Watson, CNN Turkey correspondent, in Taksim Square during his live reporting in Istanbul, May 31. AP Photo

As tensions rise hours before the planned protests at Istanbul’s Taksim Square, police intervened in the live shooting by CNN International, aggressively questioning the broadcaster’s correspondent. 

“Turkish police detained me and my crew in the middle of a live report in Taksim Square," reporter Ivan Watson said on his Twitter account, also sharing photos of the moment. 

“One officer kneed me in the butt,” he wrote.

Watson was released soon afterward. 

"Turkish police released CNN team after half an hour. Officer apologized for another officer who kneed me while I was being detained," he said in a tweet later. 

"Turkish police officer wasn't satisfied with my press card from prime ministry. 'Many are counterfeited,' he said, demanding my passport, too," he said. 

Daily Cumhuriyet reported that a police officer ordered his inferiors to detain the crew if they fail to show their passports. 

Taksim Solidarity, one of the initiators of last year’s Gezi protests, had called on people to gather in Taksim at 7 p.m. to remember the victims of police violence last year. 

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said earlier today that the police would not let any protests into Taksim today.