DIYARBAKIR, Turkey
A Turkish court has remanded to prison three foreign journalists, who had been under detention on terrorism charges, judicial sources said Monday.
Vice News journalists Mohammed Ismael Rasool, Philip Gingell Hanrahan and Philip John Pendlebury were put on remand by the Second Criminal Court in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, sources said.
The reporters are charged with "knowingly and willfully helping the armed terrorist organization without being a part of its hierarchical structure", sources said, without naming the organization which they allegedly aided.
In Washington, the State Department urged Turkish officials to protect the rights of the detained.
"Freedom of expression, including for journalists, and due process are key elements in every healthy democracy and are enshrined in the Turkish constitution as well as Turkey’s OSCE commitments, and Turkey’s international human rights obligations," spokesman Mark Toner told reporters, referring to the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Washington has conveyed its concern to the Turkish government, he added.
The trio of journalists have been in detention since late Thursday.
