Don't speak, don't film': Journalist arrests fuel fears for democracy after Turkey protests Istanbul BBC Yasin AkgulBBC Yasin Akgul, a photojournalist for AFP, was arrested at his home It was early morning on 23 March when the police came to Yasin Akgul's door in Istanbul – while his children were still in bed. Just hours before, the Turkish photojournalist had returned home from covering mass anti-government protests. Now he was a wanted man. "I went to the door and saw there was a lot of police," he says. "They said they had an arrest order for me but gave me no details. My son was awake, and I couldn't even tell him what was happening as I didn't get it myself." Akgul, 35, has seen "plenty of action" in more than a decade as a photojournalist with the AFP news agency – from war-torn Syria to IS-controlled Iraq. On home soil in Turkey, he has been beaten by the police several times while taking pictures, he says - including on World Peace Day – and has been detained "so many times". But being arrested at home was a first. "A chill fell over the house," he tells us. "In my work, at the protests, I have seen a lot of violence, and tear gas, but having the police in my home, I felt more afraid." Akgul was one of seven journalists arrested in dawn raids. All had been covering the protests sparked by the arrest of the city's opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu – the main political rival of Turkey's long-time leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The protesters say the mayor's arrest over corruption charges, which he denies, is politically motivated – an attempt to end his hopes of becoming the country's next president. The authorities had banned the protests but had been unable to stop them. Akgul is facing charges of "taking part in illegal rallies and marches". He says the aim is clear – to stop others taking pictures of the biggest unrest in Turkey in more than a decade. He was in the thick of it – gas mask on – when he took some of the most iconic images of the night. YASIN AKGUL/AFP A whirling dervish stands in front of Turkish riot police officers using pepper spray to disperse protesters during a rally in support of Istanbul's arrested mayor in Istanbul Municipality, on March 23, 2025.YASIN AKGUL/AFP Akgul's photos from the protests were seen around the world His photos show a man dressed as a whirling dervish (a dancing mystic) being pepper-sprayed by a line of riot police – striking images of a battle for the soul of Turkey that went around the world, before landing him behind bars. "This message is to all the journalists," he says. "Don't shoot (take pictures), don't speak, don't film. They are making other journalists afraid that if they go back into the field, they could face the same thing." The fact that he works for an international news agency, AFP, makes that message even louder, he believes. It has been received and understood. "After we were arrested, many freelance journalists could not shoot the next day. Everyone was afraid," he told us, sitting on his couch at home with his wife Hazal by his side. Their three-year-old daughter, Ipek, lay on the couch, holding her father's hand. Their son, Umut, eight, listened on, wearing a Harry Potter-style hat and glasses. Akgul believes those arrested were carefully chosen – among them seasoned photojournalists. "They are trying to remove us from the front lines," he says. Plenty of his friends – fellow journalists - have already removed themselves, leaving Turkey because they faced charges or feared they would. For now, his family is among many here worrying that they could be torn apart by the courts. The government says the judiciary is independent. Human rights groups say judges are under political control, and Turkish democracy is being eroded, year on year. President Erdogan – who has many loyal supporters - retains a tight grip on the levers of power. He says the protests are "street terrorism" and accuses the opposition of leading "a movement of violence". He has predicted that the demonstrations will wane. Maybe. Maybe not. More on Turkey protests 'Then, the phone rang': BBC's Mark Lowen on being deported from Turkey Why are thousands of people protesting in Turkey? Erdogan: Turkey's all-powerful leader of 20 years As Yasin Akgul was being released from prison on the morning of 27 March, the BBC's Mark Lowen was being deported from Istanbul, after 17 hours in detention. He was given papers saying he was "a threat to public order". The authorities later said – after the BBC reported the story – that he had been deported because he lacked accreditation. It's not only journalists who are at risk. One of the mayor's own lawyers was detained briefly "on fictitious grounds", according to a social media post that Ekrem Imamoglu sent from his cell in a high security prison. His legal team fight on, but they too are feeling the chill. "The right to a defence, I think, is sacred. It's part of a fair tria