A 4-day detention order has been issued for Dicle Fırat Journalists Association co-chair and Mesopotamia Agency (MA) editor Dicle Müftüoğlu, who went to Diyarbakır Police Department on Friday morning to give a statement after her house was raided while she was not at home.

The arrest warrant was issued by the Van Chief Public Prosecutor's Office as part of an investigation opened this year but under a confidentiality order. Müftüoğlu is expected to be questioned by the Van Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Monday, via Audio and Video Information System.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) issued a statement about the arrest and said it is “alarmed at the unannounced and unexplained arrest of Dicle Müftüoğlu. Such pressure tactics by law enforcement agencies are deplorable. We call for her immediate release. We call on the authorities to immediately release the journalist and disclose the basis of their actions. The charges against the journalist, if any, must be disclosed.” 

The statement added: “We condemn the persistent legal harassment of the journalist and demand that the grounds for her arrest must be disclosed immediately. The rapidly declining space for independent press in Turkey is a matter of grave concern and treacherous for any democracy.”