By Turkish Minute
- June 11, 2022
Meral Danış Beştaş from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Thursday submitted a parliamentary question regarding the detention of 21 journalists in southeastern Diyarbakır province, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing the Bianet news website.
Addressing the Ministry of Justice, Beştaş said there was a confidentiality order regarding the investigations and demanded to know why the journalists were detained.
Turkish authorities detained 21 Kurdish journalists on Wednesday. The detainees worked for Kurdish news outlets JinNews and the Mezopotamya news agency (MA). Among those who were detained were MA’s Editor-in-Chief Aziz Oruç, JinNews News Director Safiye Alagaş and JinNews Editor-in-Chief Gülşen Koçuk.
The journalists are currently in custody at Diyarbakır police headquarters’ counterterrorism division, where they are reportedly being kept in one-person cells.
The journalists’ lawyer Resul Temur contacted the prosecutor to find out why they were detained and to see his clients. However, the prosecutor said the investigations were still underway and that he was reluctant to disclose the reason for the detentions. He only said the journalists were detained for their journalism activities and servicing news for foreign television stations.
Opposition politicians, journalists and activists expressed outrage over the detentions, saying it was a huge blow to freedom of the press. At a press conference in eastern Turkey’s Van province, representatives for the Human Rights Foundation (IHD) said the journalists were punished for their journalistic work.
“The police raided the homes and offices of these journalists as if they were terrorists,” they said. “They were made to wait in handcuffs for hours while the police conducted the searches.”
They added that the independent press would never stop telling the public the truth. “Independent journalists will not give in to political pressure and violence,” they said.
Journalists in southern Mersin province also said they would not give in to political pressure and supported their detained colleagues. At a press briefing they added that censorship had become common in Turkey but that they would cover the news with the utmost transparency.
The Turkish Journalists’ Association (TGC) said the detention of journalists was unacceptable. “The government is trying to monopolize the press,” they said. “They want journalists to cover the news according to the government agenda. But a country where independent media does not exist cannot be democratic.”
The TGC said the government urgently needed to stop referring to government critics as terrorists and their journalistic work as terrorism. Moreover, they demanded that all detained and arrested journalists be immediately released.
Turkey is one of the world’s biggest jailers of professional journalists and was ranked 153rd among 180 countries in terms of press freedom in 2021, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Turkish journalists are often targeted and jailed for their journalistic activities.
- June 11, 2022
Meral Danış Beştaş from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Thursday submitted a parliamentary question regarding the detention of 21 journalists in southeastern Diyarbakır province, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing the Bianet news website.
Addressing the Ministry of Justice, Beştaş said there was a confidentiality order regarding the investigations and demanded to know why the journalists were detained.
Turkish authorities detained 21 Kurdish journalists on Wednesday. The detainees worked for Kurdish news outlets JinNews and the Mezopotamya news agency (MA). Among those who were detained were MA’s Editor-in-Chief Aziz Oruç, JinNews News Director Safiye Alagaş and JinNews Editor-in-Chief Gülşen Koçuk.
The journalists are currently in custody at Diyarbakır police headquarters’ counterterrorism division, where they are reportedly being kept in one-person cells.
The journalists’ lawyer Resul Temur contacted the prosecutor to find out why they were detained and to see his clients. However, the prosecutor said the investigations were still underway and that he was reluctant to disclose the reason for the detentions. He only said the journalists were detained for their journalism activities and servicing news for foreign television stations.
Opposition politicians, journalists and activists expressed outrage over the detentions, saying it was a huge blow to freedom of the press. At a press conference in eastern Turkey’s Van province, representatives for the Human Rights Foundation (IHD) said the journalists were punished for their journalistic work.
“The police raided the homes and offices of these journalists as if they were terrorists,” they said. “They were made to wait in handcuffs for hours while the police conducted the searches.”
They added that the independent press would never stop telling the public the truth. “Independent journalists will not give in to political pressure and violence,” they said.
Journalists in southern Mersin province also said they would not give in to political pressure and supported their detained colleagues. At a press briefing they added that censorship had become common in Turkey but that they would cover the news with the utmost transparency.
The Turkish Journalists’ Association (TGC) said the detention of journalists was unacceptable. “The government is trying to monopolize the press,” they said. “They want journalists to cover the news according to the government agenda. But a country where independent media does not exist cannot be democratic.”
The TGC said the government urgently needed to stop referring to government critics as terrorists and their journalistic work as terrorism. Moreover, they demanded that all detained and arrested journalists be immediately released.
Turkey is one of the world’s biggest jailers of professional journalists and was ranked 153rd among 180 countries in terms of press freedom in 2021, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Turkish journalists are often targeted and jailed for their journalistic activities.
Intellectuals and journalists call on everyone to stand up with arrested Kurdish journalists
A number of intellectuals, journalists and activists reacted to the detention of Kurdish journalists and called on everyone to take a stand against the AKP-MHP government.
ANF
NEWS DESK
Saturday, 11 Jun 2022
Reactions to the detention of 21 Kurdish journalists in Amed continue.
A number of intellectuals, activists and journalists said: "We condemn the government's pressure on journalists and invite everyone to take a stance against this pressure."
The statement said: “We condemn the government pressure on the press and call on everyone to take a stand against it!
The AKP-MHP Regime is increasing its pressure on journalists and especially Kurdish journalists as the election approaches. The detention of 21 journalists from Mesopotamia Agency and Jinnews, whose ‘crime’ is writing, and keeping them in handcuffs for hours is not only a violation of the freedom of the press, which is an indispensable part of democracy, but also a violation of basic human rights.
The Turkish regime, which is becoming more and more totalitarian, increases its hatred towards those who do not think like it. When evaluated together with the social media law, it appears clear that the main target of this pressure and intimidation is actually to prevent the public's right to receive information, as well as to prepare the infrastructure for the frauds planned to be carried out in the next elections. The government wants to prevent the flow of information and news about human rights and election violations, especially in the Kurdish region.
The fact that political parties and non-governmental organizations, especially the main opposition, remain silent about this pressure means that they ignore the oppression and persecution of the Kurds, as always. It is naïve to think that there will be free and fair elections in an environment where there is no free and independent press.
Regardless of their origin, belief or language, efforts to silence journalists must be resisted and countered. Those who are silent today will not have the right to complain tomorrow.
We strongly condemn this pressure on journalists and invite everyone to take a stand against this pressure from the government and support our friends."
A number of intellectuals, journalists and activists reacted to the detention of Kurdish journalists and called on everyone to take a stand against the AKP-MHP government.
ANF
NEWS DESK
Saturday, 11 Jun 2022
Reactions to the detention of 21 Kurdish journalists in Amed continue.
A number of intellectuals, activists and journalists said: "We condemn the government's pressure on journalists and invite everyone to take a stance against this pressure."
The statement said: “We condemn the government pressure on the press and call on everyone to take a stand against it!
The AKP-MHP Regime is increasing its pressure on journalists and especially Kurdish journalists as the election approaches. The detention of 21 journalists from Mesopotamia Agency and Jinnews, whose ‘crime’ is writing, and keeping them in handcuffs for hours is not only a violation of the freedom of the press, which is an indispensable part of democracy, but also a violation of basic human rights.
The Turkish regime, which is becoming more and more totalitarian, increases its hatred towards those who do not think like it. When evaluated together with the social media law, it appears clear that the main target of this pressure and intimidation is actually to prevent the public's right to receive information, as well as to prepare the infrastructure for the frauds planned to be carried out in the next elections. The government wants to prevent the flow of information and news about human rights and election violations, especially in the Kurdish region.
The fact that political parties and non-governmental organizations, especially the main opposition, remain silent about this pressure means that they ignore the oppression and persecution of the Kurds, as always. It is naïve to think that there will be free and fair elections in an environment where there is no free and independent press.
Regardless of their origin, belief or language, efforts to silence journalists must be resisted and countered. Those who are silent today will not have the right to complain tomorrow.
We strongly condemn this pressure on journalists and invite everyone to take a stand against this pressure from the government and support our friends."
The statement was signed by the following people:
"1) Abdullah Cetin – Journalist
2) Ali Çatakçın – Author
3) Alin Ozinian – Journalist
4) Amberin Zaman - Journalist
5) Aris Nalcı – Journalist
6) Ayşe Hür – Researcher Writer
7) Ayşe Yıldırım – Journalist
8) Can Dundar – Journalist
9) Celal Başlangıç – Journalist
10) Cengiz Aktar – Academic
11) Dünya Doğan – Lawyer
12) Elif Yıldırım- Poet, Writer
13) Erdoğan Aydın – Journalist Writer
14) Ergun Babahan – Journalist
15) Erk Acarer – Journalist
16) Erol Köroğlu – Academic
17) Ertuğrul Mavioğlu – Journalist
18) Fuat Ateş – Journalist
19) Hasan Töre – Politician
20) Hayko Baghdad – Journalist
21) Hüseyin Levent Köker - Academic
22) İsmail Özen – Athlete
23) Latife Akyüz – Academic
24) Leyla Uyar – Journalist
25) Mahir Sayın – Politician
26) Mehmet Ali Çankaya – AABK Organizing Officer
27) Murat Çakır – Writer
28) Neşe Özgen – Academic
29) Nevra Akdemir – Academic
30) Nikos Michailidis – Academic
31) Ohannes Kılıçdağı – Academic
32) Osman Okkan – Journalist
33) Ragıp Duran – Journalist
34) Selim Eskiizmirliler – Academic
35) Şehbal Şenyurt – Director-Writer
36) Tuncay Yilmaz – Politician
37) Ümit Kıvanç – Journalist
38) Yavuz Baydar - Journalist
39) Yektan Türkyılmaz – Academic
40) Yiğit Aksakoğlu – Civil Society Member.
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