Medin had traveled to Istanbul to cover protests sparked by the arrest of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, according to reports. He was detained upon arrival and formally arrested the next day on terrorism-related charges, reports say. He was held in Silivri Prison before his release, which came after an objection filed by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), according to reports.
Turkish authorities have since imposed an entry ban on him, according to reports. According to multiple reports, Medin was imprisoned in Marmara Prison, which human rights organizations have described as a concentration camp for opposition members. Medin is being tried in absentia in Istanbul on charges including membership in an armed terrorist organization and disseminating terrorist propaganda, according to court documents.
The first hearing was held on 25 September 2025 but lasted only about three minutes before being adjourned, according to court documents. The court cited procedural deficiencies in the case file and said it would wait for a response to a request to take Medin's statement in the country where he is currently located, according to court documents. If convicted, Medin faces years in prison, legal experts say.
Turkey's ongoing transnational repression underscores the seriousness of the situation.
The indictment from Turkish prosecutors cites Medin's social media posts, news reports, and books as evidence, according to court documents. Prosecutors claim that in his articles for Dagens ETC, Medin sought to legitimize the PKK, YPG, and affiliated structures, according to court documents. se, Medin denied all accusations, stating he merely reported on the incident in a professional capacity.
Medin was previously convicted of insulting the president based on social media posts related to a 2023 protest in Stockholm, according to court records. He received a suspended sentence of 11 months and 20 days in prison, according to court records. PEN International, PEN Sweden, and PEN Norway have demanded that Turkish authorities drop the terror charges, lift the entry ban, and overturn the insult conviction, according to statements from the organizations.
Burhan Sonmez, president of PEN International, said prosecuting Medin in absentia on spurious grounds sends a chilling message to journalists and writers. Hanna Nordell, head of PEN Sweden, added that Turkey's ongoing transnational repression underscores the seriousness of the situation. The hearing was attended by a Swedish MEP, a DEM Party deputy, representatives of press freedom organizations, and observers, according to reports.
He is tenacious and deeply committed to journalism.
Medin is a Swedish journalist, writer, and member of PEN Sweden, according to his biography. His career began in 2009 when he covered a military coup in Honduras, according to his biography. He has published several books, including Kurdspåret in 2023, for which he was nominated for the Guldspaden award, according to his biography.
org, Martin Schibbye described Medin as tenacious and deeply committed to journalism. Medin's book Fängslad av Erdoğan provides an inside account of the Turkish prison and justice system, with his wife Sofie Axelsson Medin contributing the family perspective, according to the book's description. The specific procedural deficiencies that led to the adjournment have not been disclosed.
The current status of Medin's appeal against the insult conviction remains unclear. The exact nature and permanence of the entry ban have not been confirmed.