Director and editor of the local daily Ses Kocaeli (The Voice of Kocaeli), Gungor Arslan was targeted by an armed assailant in his office.
Seriously injured, the journalist died in the city hospital where he had been transferred.
The security forces arrested the assailant, announced the Kocaeli prefecture without, however, giving details of his identity or the circumstances of the murder.
The representative in Turkey of the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Erol Onderoglu, told AFP that the journalist was investigating cases of alleged corruption in his city. Mr. Onderoglu condemned the attack and called for it to be clarified and for those responsible to be punished in the most severe way
.
In his last two publications, the victim had criticized the mayor of Kocaeli, elected from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), for awarding tenders to groups close to his party.
Mr. Arslan had already been the victim of a physical attack and had been indicted for his articles.
Many saw in him courage to deal with corruption cases
Mr. Onderoglu told AFP.
Condemning the assassination, the Journalists Association of Turkey called for an end to attacks on journalists and the impunity of those responsible
.
Turkey is ranked 153rd in the World Press Freedom Index of RSF.
