Sputnik Turkey under attack: Russian agency’s lead editor held by police, 3 staffers questioned by after assault by nationalists

Istanbul police have detained the head of the Turkish branch of Russian news outlet Sputnik. In Ankara, three employees of the news agency were questioned by prosecutors after coming under attack by Turkish nationalists.

The arrest of Mahir Boztepe, the head of Sputnik’s Turkish branch, was confirmed by RT and Sputnik editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan. The agency said its chief was taken to the Istanbul Police Department’s main office.

Sputnik’s office in Istanbul is being searched by the city police, Simonyan said. No immediate reason for the search has been given.

Earlier, three staff members for the news agency, who had been targeted by Turkish nationalists on Saturday and turned to the Ankara police for help, went missing. It was presumed they had been taken into custody, but according to Simonyan, the police have denied any knowledge of their whereabouts.

The three journalists were eventually found on Sunday at Ankara’s hall of justice, where they were questioned by prosecutors. They were eventually released as prosecutors did not find any wrongdoing in their activities.

Earlier reports by Turkish media indicated that the authorities arrested three Sputnik employees over an article published by the English-language branch of the Russian news network a day earlier. The article focused on the Turkish province of Hatay, which has long been disputed by Syria.

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