Yüksel Durgut is a Turkish journalist and author who spent the majority of his career at the former Cihan News Agency, serving as a war correspondent and bureau chief in Pakistan and Afghanistan for nearly a decade. Following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, he was arrested and subsequently sentenced to prison after a trial closely monitored by international press freedom organizations. He currently resides in Germany, where he continues his work in journalism and press freedom advocacy on international platforms.
Career Durgut began his journalism career in 1994. He worked as a producer and held managerial positions in various departments at the Cihan News Agency, which was later outlawed and shut down by the Turkish government. For approximately ten years, he served as the agency's bureau chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, covering major regional developments. Throughout his career, he has been involved in several documentary projects and has published multiple books. Notable among his works is Konsoloslukların Penceresinden İstanbul (Istanbul Through the Window of Consulates), published by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's cultural enterprise (Kültür A.Ş.) in 2011, for which he served as editor.
After leaving Turkey Durgut resumed his journalistic activities in Europe, participating as a panelist and moderator on press freedom at various international conferences. At the 2022 Campfire Festival in Germany, he moderated a session on international financial institutions and press freedom on behalf of the International Journalists Association (IJA). He is also actively involved in international fact-checking and local fixer networks.
Arrest and prosecution Durgut was arrested in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, as part of mass operations targeting media outlets such as Zaman newspaper and Cihan News Agency. After spending approximately 13 months in pretrial detention at Silivri Prison, he was released pending trial.
Tried in a case separated from the main Zaman trial, Durgut was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison in April 2018 by an Istanbul court, alongside former agency employees Osman Nuri Arslan and Ahmet İrem, on charges of "membership in an armed terrorist organization." This trial and the resulting sentences were documented in reports on press freedom violations in Turkey by international media monitors, including the committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Books Durgut has authored and edited several books, including: İstanbul’u Dinliyorum (Listening to Istanbul) Mavi Dünyam (My Blue World) Konsoloslukların Penceresinden İstanbul (Istanbul Through the Window of Consulates) İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kültür A.Ş., 2011 Gökyüzünden İstanbul’un Kutsal Mekânları (Istanbul's Sacred Places from the Sky) Çocukların Umudu (The Hope of Children) – published in Germany.
Documentaries and photography He has produced various documentaries for international television networks and continues his work as a photographer and videographer. In 2023, he opened his sixth photography exhibition, titled "Muhabbet, Dua ve Yakın Bakış" (Conversation, Prayer, and a Closer Look), in Germany.
In media In 2024 Durgut was featured in the documentary Ben Hücredeyken (While I Was in the Cell), produced by the Tenkil Museum. In the documentary, alongside other exiled journalists, he detailed his experiences of solitary confinement, the harsh conditions in Turkish prisons, and the psychological impact of his imprisonment following the 2016 crackdown. Describing his incarceration, Durgut stated:
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