Lawyer: American detained in Turkey for alleged collaboration with Kurdish activists

American man held over activist links in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey — A lawyer says Turkish authorities have detained an American freelance journalist for alleged collaboration with Kurdish activists charged with links to Kurdish rebels.

Laywer Serkan Akbas says his client, Jake Hess, is likely to be deported to the United States.

Akbas said Friday that Hess had done translations for a group of activists who have since been charged with aiding the rebels. Hess was detained late Wednesday in his hotel in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, and was being held because his name appears in a prosecutor’s indictment against the activists.

Akbas said Hess had not been taken to a court for questioning — a sign he would be deported rather than charged.

The U.S. Embassy would not comment on the case.