Four journalists briefly detained over 'irritating' question in Turkey's southeast

Four journalists have been released shortly after being detained in southeastern Turkey over a question that irritated ?anl?urfa Governor ?zzettin Küçük, daily Evrensel has reported.

Evrensel correspondent Hasan Akba? and daily Cumhuriyet columnist P?nar Ö?ünç were detained along with Özlem Topçu and Deniz Yücel, of German newspapers Die Zeit and Die Welt respectively, after Akba??s question to the governor about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant?s (ISIL) presence in the Akçakale district of ?anl?urfa.

?Some who live in Tal Abyad say there are ISIL members in Akçakale and they are worried that their lives will be in danger. Do you have any comments on that?? Akba? had asked.

In response, Küçük simply said ?It?s over,? leaving the questions unanswered before instructing the police to detain the journalists.

Yücel broke the news of their detention on Twitter and he later heralded news of their release.

?We are free again,? Yücel tweeted after being questioned by police.

A man working as a press member in the ?anl?urfa Governor?s Office reportedly objected to Akba??s question in the press meeting, shouting ?There is no such question. These people are creating disturbance.? Security forces also had to forcibly prevent people from approaching the four journalists.