Armenian journalists taken to police station in Turkey

A group of the Armenian GALA TV station, currently working in the Turkish town of Kars, was taken to a local police station on Friday.

Plain-clothed policemen had approached the group when it was shooting a film in a former Armenian-populated district of the town, prohibiting them from shooting further. The journalists were then taken to a police station for a document check, GALA TV says in a news release.

The security service told the group that they were not allowed to take pictures in Kars or any other area in Turkey, without permission by a relevant state body. The TV group, however, argued that obtaining any permission was actually impossible as the days of the shooting coincided with the celebration of Turkish national holiday of Kurban Bayram.

The group members (supervisor K. Harutyunyan, editor E. Mkhitaryan, cameraman T. Gasabyan, translator H. Filyan, driver R. Martiorsyan) refused to submit their passpports to the Turkish law enforcers, claiming it was a violation of their rights.

After phone conversations with their chief, the security officers first demanded that the “trespassers” pay fine, each 250 Turkish liras, then, “meeting them half-way”, decided that the same amount be paid by the whole group.

After a new phone call, however, they dropped their demand for fine.

The law enforcers kept the group at the police department for 1.5 hours, checked their passports and released them, according to the news release.