Joakim Medin
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1984 (age 40–41)
- Writer
- journalist
Joakim Medin | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Medin in 2016 | |
| Born | Kaj Joakim Medin 1984 (age 40–41) Mölndal, Sweden |
| Alma mater | Uppsala University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Spouse | Sofie Axelsson |
| Children | 1 |
Kaj Joakim Medin (born 1984) is a Swedish journalist and writer.[1]
Career
His first job in journalism was covering the 2009 Honduran coup d'état for a Guatemalan newspaper.[5] He studied journalism at Uppsala University.[4]
In 2016, Medin wrote the book Kobane: den kurdiska revolutionen och kampen mot IS (translation: "Kobani: The Kurdish revolution and the battle against IS"), which was based on his travels to Syria as a journalist, where he met Kurds trying to establish Rojava[6] after having defeated ISIS attempting to establish a caliphate in the region.[6]
His fifth book Amanda – Min dotters resa till IS (translation: "Amanda - My daughter's journey to IS") was published in 2022 and co-authored with Patricio Galvez. The book tells about Galvez' daughter Amanda Gonzalez who converted to Islam as a teenager, was then radicalised and married Michael Skråmo.[7] In 2014, the couple and their children travelled to the ISIS caliphate in Syria where both were subsequently killed in 2019.[8]
Imprisonment in Syria
Working as a freelance journalist he has reported on the treatment of Kurds in Syria. While working there he and his interpreter were jailed for a week.[9]
In February 2022, Medin was in Kyiv and reported on the first week of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[10][11] Later that same year he was awarded the Uppsala Medal of Honor.[12]
Imprisonment in Turkey
On 27 March 2025, Medin was arrested when arriving in Turkey where he was supposed to report on the ongoing protests for the newspaper ETC.[13][14] A day later, Medin's editor-in-chief at ETC confirmed his arrest, and that he was being charged with "insulting the president" and "membership of a terrorist organisation".[15] This was also confirmed by prosecutors in Ankara.[16]
His arrest stems from his alleged involvement in a protest against Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Stockholm in 2023 were an effigy of Erdogan was hanged outside Stockholm Town Hall.[17] On 23 April, he was officially charged with insulting the President, and terrorism.[18][19] The trial in Ankara was attended by Swedish parliamentarians Jonas Sjöstedt of the Left Party and Ulrika Westerlund from the Green Party.[20] He was convicted on the insult charges and sentenced to a suspended 11-month prison term.[21] He remained detained at Marmara Prison pending a verdict on his terrorism case.[22] He was released on 16 May 2025 and returned to Sweden the same day.[23][24]