Two VICE News Reporters Arrested, Charged with ‘Terror Activity’ in Turkey

Two VICE News reporters and their Iraqi translator have been arrested and charged with participating in “terror activity” in the southeastern party of Turkey.

According to the AFP, British journalists Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury, along with their interpreter, were travelling through Diyarbakir, Turkey last week when they were arrested. A fourth suspect, the driver, was later released.

The group was arrested by local police following a tip from an undisclosed source, and footage from their embedded reporting was subsequently confiscated. All three have been questioned and are currently awaiting trial.

Kevin Sutcliffe, Head of News Programming for VICE News in Europe, released a statement condemning the Turkish government’s “baseless and alarmingly false charges.” He explained that Hanrahan and Pendlebery were covering the ongoing military conflict between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in Diyarbakir.

The episode mirrors the drama surrounding the three detained Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt. It also, in a weird twist of coincidence, marks striking similarities to The Onion‘s VICE News parody video series, EDGE.

[h/t Gawker]
[Image via screengrab]

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