French journalist Mathias Depardon, detained in Turkey on charges of propagating the activity of Kurdistan Workers’  Party, has gone on hunger strike as a sign of protest, RIA Novosti reports, citing Reporters Without Borders in Turkey.

Depardon was detained on May 8 in Hasankeyf district of the country’s southeastern Batman province, which he visited for photographing upon the order of National Geographic.

After questioning, he stood trial, during which the court decided to deport the journalist. However, according to the human rights lawyers, he is still kept in custody. “Mathias decided to go on hunger strike. It is already the third day,” the representative of Reporters Without Borders in Turkey, Erol Önderoglu, told France Press. He also added that this information was received from Depardon’s attorney.

According to the information of the agency, the journalist is currently kept in the Migration Department of Gaziantep province.