Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- An American activist and freelance journalist detained in Turkey could be deported in a week to 10 days, his lawyer predicted on Tuesday.
Sarkan Akbas told CNN that an application will have to be made to the Turkish Interior Ministry for the deportation of Jake Hess, seized in the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir in the southeastern region of the country.
A prosecutor at a court hearing Sunday charged Hess with "taking orders from a terrorist organization" and called for his immediate deportation from Turkey, witnesses said.
Turkish officials regularly refers to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, as a terrorist organization.
U.S. diplomats say Hess rejected their offer of assistance after he was taken into custody saying "the U.S. is an imperialist country and I disagree with U.S. policy towards Turkey and the Kurds." He spoke to CNN on Monday by phone from a detention center in Diyarbakir.
"It would be hypocritical to support an American journalist who is persecuted for human rights journalism while at the same time supporting the Turkish policy of criminalizing Kurdish political activists," Hess said.
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