South Korean journalists arrested in trespass case in Singapore

Singapore police say they arrested two South Korean journalists while investigating a report of trespassing in the residence of the North Korean ambassador. (AFP)
Updated 08 June 2018
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South Korean journalists arrested in trespass case in Singapore

  • The two men represented the Korean Broadcasting System News but were not accredited as media personnel in Singapore
  • Police were still investigating two other South Koreans, a representative of the broadcaster and an interpreter-guide

SINGAPORE: Singapore police say they arrested two South Korean journalists while investigating a report of trespassing in the residence of the North Korean ambassador.
The statement posted on the police force’s Facebook page Friday says the two men represented the Korean Broadcasting System News but were not accredited as media personnel in Singapore. The broadcaster is more widely known as KBS.
Police were still investigating two other South Koreans, a representative of the broadcaster and an interpreter-guide.
A criminal trespass conviction in Singapore carries up to three months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,500, or both.
Police also said journalists who commit crimes in Singapore will not be accredited and thus will be unable to cover the summit Tuesday between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.


Israel arrests 2 Turkish CNN journalists over live broadcast outside IDF HQ

Updated 03 March 2026
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Israel arrests 2 Turkish CNN journalists over live broadcast outside IDF HQ

  • Police said reporter Emrah Cakmak and cameraman Halil Kahraman were detained on suspicion of filming a sensitive security facility
  • Since the Gaza war began, restrictions have expanded significantly, including tighter limits on filming soldiers on duty and sensitive or strategic sites

LONDON: Israeli police have arrested two Turkish CNN journalists who were broadcasting live outside the Israel Defense Forces’ headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Police said the pair were detained on suspicion of filming a sensitive security facility, according to the Israel Police Spokesperson’s Unit.

Reporter Emrah Cakmak and cameraman Halil Kahraman, from the network’s Turkish-language channel, had been reporting near the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters on Tuesday after Iran launched another missile barrage at Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel.

During the live broadcast, two men believed to be soldiers approached the crew and seized the reporter’s phone, according to initial reports and a video circulating online that could not be independently verified.

Police said officers were dispatched after receiving reports of two people carrying cameras and allegedly broadcasting in real time for a foreign outlet.

Israel’s long-standing military censorship system, overseen by the IDF Military Censor, has long barred journalists and civilians from publishing material deemed harmful to national security.

Since the Gaza war began, restrictions have expanded significantly, including tighter limits on filming soldiers on duty and sensitive or strategic sites.

After a series of similar incidents involving foreign media — most of them Palestinian citizens of Israel working for Arab-language and international media, along with foreign journalists — during the 12-Day War, Israeli police halted live international broadcasts from missile impact sites, citing concerns that exact locations were being revealed.

The Government Press Office later imposed a blanket ban on live coverage from crash and impact areas.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir subsequently ordered that all foreign journalists obtain prior written approval from the military censor before broadcasting — live or recorded — from combat zones or missile strike locations.

Police said that when officers asked the CNN Turk crew to identify themselves, they presented expired press cards and were taken in for questioning.

Burhanettin Duran, head of Turkiye’s Directorate of Communications, condemned the arrests as an attack on the press and said Ankara is working to secure the journalists’ release.