Joakim Medin has been sitting in a high-security prison outside Istanbul for almost a month, accused of insulting Turkey's president and committing terrorist offenses.
When the indictment was presented on Wednesday, it became clear what Turkey is basing the accusations on.
According to the Turkish organization MLSA, which provides legal assistance to journalists, activists, and academics in Turkey and represents Medin, it is clear that the Swede is being brought to trial for his journalistic activities.
News articles as evidence
Among the evidence is, for example, a book written by Joakim Medin about Kurds in Syria, which the Turkish prosecutor's office claims is part of the terrorist-stamped Kurdish organization PKK's propaganda.
Three of Joakim Medin's news articles, published in the newspaper Dagens ETC in 2023, are also being used as evidence. One of the articles deals with Turkish bombing of Kurdish areas in northeastern Syria. Another deals with Sweden's new terror law, which was presented in connection with Sweden's negotiations with Turkey on NATO membership. The third article concerns the Swedish Security Service's investigation of the Swedish-Kurdish movement.
The indictment emphasizes that the articles contain images of PKK flags and leaders, and constitute "propaganda content" and "aim to give the impression that the organization has a legal structure".
Trips suspected
Several posts and shares on social media are also being used as evidence against Medin. A large part of the indictment regarding insulting the president consists of Medin's posts about a protest action in 2023, when a doll representing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hung outside Stockholm City Hall.
According to MLSA, the fact that Joakim Medin's journalistic work has focused on Kurdish areas and that he has often traveled there and to Turkey for work is also being suspected. This is considered, according to the Turkish prosecutor's office, to indicate "organizational engagement".
The first trial, regarding insulting the president, begins in Ankara on April 30. Joakim Medin, who according to Dagens ETC will participate via link from the prison, risks 12 years in prison for both charges.
Medin denies all allegations and has emphasized that journalism is not a crime.
Journalist Joakim Medin traveled to Istanbul on March 27 on assignment for the newspaper Dagens ETC to report on widespread protests in the country, after Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested earlier in the spring.
Medin, who has visited Turkey as a journalist several times but has not had problems with the authorities before, was arrested directly at the airport.
He was then transferred to the high-security prison Marmara in Silivri outside Istanbul, where many of Turkey's political prisoners are or have been held. Medin is sitting in the same section as the imprisoned mayor Imamoglu.
On April 23, he was charged with terrorist offenses and insulting the president, which can result in a total of 12 years in prison.
