Turkish journalist investigating corruption shot dead

Ankara - A journalist was shot and killed outside the offices of his newspaper in northwest Turkey on Saturday, police and local media reported.

Gungor Arslan, the director and chief editor of the local daily Ses Kocaeli (The Voice of Kocaeli) was shot and seriously wounded, dying in the city hospital soon afterwards.

Local police said they had arrested a suspect but did not identify him or give any details of the attack.

Erol Onderoglu, the Turkish representative of Paris-based media rights group Reporters without Borders (RSF) told AFP Arslan had been investigating corruption in the city.

Condemning the killing, he called for those responsible to be identified and punished to the full extent of the law.

In the last two editions of Ses Kocaeli, Arslan had accused the mayor of the city, a member of the ruling AKP party of awarding contracts to groups close to the party.

Arslan had already been the target of an attack and had also been placed under investigation for previous articles.

"A lot of people regarded him as courageous for investigating corruption," Onderoglu told AFP.

Turkey ranks a lowly 153 on RSF's latest worldwide Freedom of the Press Index.