This Journalist Is About to Get Detained — Live On Air

In a sign of how tense things have gotten in Turkey these days, a CNN journalist was detained and kicked by police -- live on air.

Reporting from Taksim Square in Istanbul, CNN's Ivan Watson was showing the audience lines of riot police, stationed there to prevent a resurgence of anti-government protests on the anniversary of last year's Gezi Perk riots.

That's when he was surrounded and detained on camera.

"Where is your passport?" an official begins yelling, as Watson tries to keep the broadcast going.

"Harold we're being detained right now," Watson says upon realizing the police aren't accepting his press credentials. "This is, uh, this is, I'm being kicked."

The broadcast then cuts off.

For his part, Watson seemed to take the whole thing in stride, both during the incident, when he kept narrating as he was surrounded by aggressive Turkish police, and afterwards when he sent a series of update tweets.

Turkish police detained me and my crew in the middle of a live report in Taksim Square. One officer kneed me in the butt.

— Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) May 31, 2014

Watson has since been released.

Turkish police released CNN team after half an hour. Officer apologized for another officer who kneed me while I was being detained. 1/2

— Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN)

May 31, 2014

Turkish police officer wasn't satisfied w/my press card from prime ministry. "Many are counterfeited," he said, demanding passport 2/2

— Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) May 31, 2014

Featured image source: screengrab via YouTube

—

Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter