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Joakim Medin
Swedish journalist and writer (born 1984) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kaj Joakim Medin (born 1984) is a Swedish journalist and writer.[1]
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Early life
He was born in 1984 in Mölndal.[2][3] He has a sister and a brother. He worked as a history and social studies teacher for two years at Westerlundska Gymnasium in Enköping.[4]
Career
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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]
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Personal life
His wife, Sofie Axelsson, is also a journalist.[25] They have a daughter.[26]
Bibliography
- Kobane: den kurdiska revolutionen och kampen mot IS. Stockholm: Leopard förlag. 2016. ISBN 9789173436250
- Orbánistan: rädsla och avsky i det illiberala Ungern. Stockholm: Verbal. 2018. Libris 22422690. ISBN 9789187777370
- Thailandssvenskarna. Stockholm: Verbal. 2019. ISBN 9789187777752
- Samhällsbärarna. Stockholm: Unizon. 2021. ISBN 978-91-519-8816-0
- Amanda – Min dotters resa till IS. Stockholm: Verbal. 2022. ISBN 978-91-89155-81-7
- Samhällsbärarna. Stockholm: Unizon. 2021. ISBN 978-91-519-8816-0
- Kurdspåret. Sverige, Turkiet och priset för ett Natomedlemskap. Stockholm: Verbal. 2023. ISBN 978-91-89524-38-5
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References
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