Dicle News Agency (DIHA) reporter Ferhat Arslan who was taken into custody as a result of an expansive KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) operation in the southern province of Mersin on Tuesday morning has reportedly been on a hunger strike since his detention. Arslan’s state of health is reported to be deteriorating.

DIHA reporter Arslan was detained during the raid in Mersin office of Azadiya Welat daily Kurdish paper. Police seized the hard disks of all computers, weekly paper archive and cameras in the office which was searched in detail for long hours.

It has been reported that Arslan said to Mehmet Demir, a paper worker who was also in the office during the raid, that he was going on a hunger strike from then on.

Arslan and other detainees are still held under custody at Anti-Terror Branch of Mersin Police Headquarters.