Sweden aids journalist held in Spain on Turkey warrant

STOCKHOLM - Agence France-Presse

Sweden said on Aug. 8 that it was working to assist a Swedish-Turkish journalist detained in Spain after Ankara issued an international arrest warrant over alleged terrorism.

Hamza Yalçın was detained on Aug. 3 at Barcelona’s El Prat airport and is being held while a court decides whether to extradite him or not, Spanish police told AFP.

“The foreign ministry has asked to be allowed to visit the Swedish national detained in Barcelona, Spain,” said Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom.

“The foreign ministry has made sure that he has a lawyer and is working to clarify the charges,” she said.  
 
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says that since 1984, Yalçın has lived in exile in Sweden, where he has written for Odak Magazine.

Turkey ranks 155 on the latest RSF World Press Freedom Index, below Belarus and the Democratic Republic of Congo, after dropping four places from its 2016 ranking.

According to the P24 press freedom website, there are 162 journalists behind bars in Turkey, most of whom were detained after last year’s coup attempt.