Turkey urged to release Syrian journalist Rami Jarrah
- Published

Rami Jarrah has reported from Syria at great risk, the CPJ says
A media advocacy group has called for the release of an independent Syrian journalist who has been detained in Turkey.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Rami Jarrah - who met the Turkish president last month - was held while applying for a residence permit in the city of Gaziantep.
The CPJ said Syrian journalists should be protected rather than detained.
Turkey has come under criticism for its treatment of journalists.
Mr Jarrah, external founded the independent citizen journalist group ANA Press, providing reports to international media, after leaving Syria.
Rami Jarrah: 'Total chaos and crisis in Aleppo'
He was initially held in a detention facility for foreign citizens, but was moved to a different facility on Thursday and it was not clear where he was currently being held, the CPJ said, external.
He was questioned about his work, but was given access to a lawyer and had not been charged with any crime, the group added.

Rami Jarrah footage and reports from Aleppo have appeared in international media
"Syrian journalists like Jarrah, who have turned to Turkey for safe refuge, should be protected rather than subjected to detention and harassment," said CPJ co-ordinator Nina Ognianova.
Mr Jarrah's father, Nouri al-Jarrah, said he was "surprised and concerned" by his son's arrest and called for his immediate release, external.
He said his son and other Syrian journalists had earlier met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who promised that the Turkish authorities would support them in their work.
Ms Ognianova said Mr Jarrah was known for his independent reporting, which she said was carried out at great personal risk.
Mr Jarrah, who was brought up in the UK, fled Syria with his wife and child in 2011 fearing that he was in danger but continued to go back to report.
The CPJ says independent reporting such as that conducted by ANA Press is increasingly rare in Syria, with more and more journalists working under the protection of armed groups or being members of those groups.

Freedom of the press in Turkey

Turkey ranks 149th among the 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index 2015, external
Media organisations in Turkey say that more than 30 journalists are currently behind bars
Most are of Kurdish origin
The government argues journalism in Turkey is among the most free in the world
