The Turkish Prime Minister's office imposed a temporary media ban on Tuesday on coverage of the hostage-taking situation involving a prosecutor in Istanbul, citing "national security" concerns, Today's Zaman reported citing Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council's (RTUK) statement, Sputnik reported.
The council said that the media ban was triggered by an emergency security situation. Under Turkish law, such a ban may be introduced by the country's prime minister in situations that pose a threat to public order.
A Turkish prosecutor, Mehmet Selim Kiraz, is being held hostage by an armed far-left group the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party Front (DHKP-C) in a courtroom in Istanbul. Kiraz has been leading an investigation into the death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, who was hit on the head by a police officer in June 2013, during a mass anti-government rally in Istanbul. He died in March 2014, following 269 days in a coma.
The courthouse having been evacuated, Turkey's special units have encircled the building.
The DHKP-C said in a statement that those responsible for Elvan's death should be arrested. Gunmen threatened to kill the prosecutor if their demands are not met.
The DHKP-C is a radical leftist group, founded in 1978 as the Revolutionary Left, and then re-branded in 1994. The organization is considered a terrorist group in Turkey, the United States and the European Union.