Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkish authorities have detained American activist and freelance journalist Jake Hess in the southeastern, predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir.
At a court appearance Sunday, a prosecutor charged Hess with "taking orders from a terrorist organization" and called for his immediate deportation from Turkey, witnesses said.
Turkish officialdom 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.
"We have spoken with him on the phone regarding his situation, and he specifically asked us not to share any information on his case," said Deborah Guido, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Ankara. "He did not sign a privacy waiver. We can take an oral privacy waiver [by phone], and it was his choice. He did not want to be helped".
Asked why he rejected the American offer, Hess answered that "the U.S. is an imperialist country, and I disagree with U.S. policy towards Turkey and the Kurds. 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 spoke with CNN by telephone on Monday from the detention center in Diyarbakir. He said he was initially detained by a Turkish anti-terrorist police unit on August 11. CNN
