KRG minister decries detention of Anadolu Agency staff

By Idris Okuducu

ISTANBUL (AA) - A minister of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on Thursday said the detention of Anadolu Agency’s employees in Cairo is “unacceptable”.

"The aggression on Anadolu Agency in Cairo is illegal, contradicts the freedom of international press, and is unacceptable," Minister of Region for Components’ Affairs Aydin Maruf told Anadolu Agency.

He underlined that the Turkish news agency is an important media institution that has always been the voice of oppressed people in the Middle East.

Maruf expressed his deep regret over the raid, saying: "We, the Turkmen of Iraq, always stand by Anadolu Agency."

On Tuesday, Egyptian police raided the Cairo office of Anadolu Agency and detained four employees, including a Turkish citizen.

On Thursday evening, the Turkish citizen was released, but the whereabouts of other three detainees remain unknown.

Ankara condemned the raid and called for the immediate release of the employees.

Turkey’s political relations with Egypt have remained rocky since 2013, when Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt's first freely elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader -- was ousted in a bloody military coup.