American journalist arrested in Turkey refuses US help

An American freelance journalist detained in Turkey and facing deportation has refused help from US authorities, according to reports.

Jake Hess, who writes for Inter Press Service, was arrested on 11 August in Diyarbakir in south east Turkey. According to a report by press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Hess was accused of links with the Union of Kurdistan Communitites (KCK), and arrested as part of an investigation into parent organisation the Kurdistan Workers Party, which is viewed as a terrorist organisation by officials.

A trial of 150 alleged members of the KCK is expected to start in Diyarbakir on 18 October and RSF is concerned that Hess could spend a month-and-a-half in pre-trial detention if he is included in the case. According to a report on AOL News, later confirmed by the Associated Press, a prosecutor yesterday ordered Hess' deportation from the country.

"I did not want help from the US government because I disagree with the US government's policy in Turkey and I did not want to deal with them," Hess told AOL News.

Both RSF and the Committee to Protect Journalists have called for Hess' immediate release.

"Jake Hess is a legitimate journalist and the mere appearance of his name in KCK documents is not grounds for detention, prosecution, or deportation. We call on Turkish authorities to immediately release Hess and not hinder his reporting," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator on Friday.

The journalist's lawyer told RSF that he did not think Hess' arrest was the result of an investigation into the KCK, but a result of his coverage of forest fires in the region, the depopulation of Kurdish villages and Turkish air strikes in Iraq.

Independent columnist Johann Hari, who calls Hess "a good friend", added his support to calls for the journalist's release in a blog post on Saturday: "He is a legitimate journalist of extremely high integrity. The idea that he would have any alliance with, or sympathy for, a terror group is utterly absurd. Yet he is currently being held at the Diyarbakir Anti-Terrorism Branch."

In an email to Journalism.co.uk, Sanjay Suri, editor in chief, of Inter Press Service said: "We are very concerned about Jake Hess, and about the implications the deportation has for media freedom. Turkish authorities have not communicated to us any concerns about the content of the reports carried by IPS. We would be happy to address such concerns should these be forthcoming."

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