ISTANBUL - 5 journalists have been detained in Izmir for 3 days. MLSA Co-Director Veysel Ok pointed out that Kurd journalists is targeted once again in the run-up to the local elections.

 

In Turkey, which ranks 165th among 180 countries on Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) press freedom list for 2023, pressures on opposition media continue unabated. Especially as we head towards local elections, opposition journalists are again targeted by the government.

 

The last example of this situation is the detention of journalists in Izmir on February 13. Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporters Semra Turan, Delal Akyüz, Tolga Güney, JINNEWS reporter Melike Aydın, Duvar Newspaper reporter Cihan Başakçıoğlu and DEM Party Press Worker Fatma Funda Akbulut were detained during a police raid on their homes.

 

It was revealed that the journalists, who had a meeting with their lawyers yesterday at the Anti-terror Branch (TEM) where they are held, were handcuffed behind their back and were subjected to police violence during their detention. The details of this accusation are unknown, as there is a restriction order in the investigation file against journalists accused of "membership in a terrorist organisation".

 

Speaking to our agency, Media and Legal Studies Association (MLSA) Co-Director Veysel Ok evaluated the government's pressure on journalists. Ok said: "If there are no journalists, there will be no opposition and non-governmental organizations."

 

KURDISH MEDIA IS THE TARGET

 

Saying that the Turkish judiciary is not independent and impartial, Ok stated that it is the Kurdish media that brings to the public the rights violations, unlawfulness and corruption in the country and presents them to the public. Ok said: “Unfortunately, as the Kurdish media reports on the rights violations committed by public officials, the government uses legal institutions against them. The hardening of the Kurdish issue turns into pressure in institutions where Kurds are concentrated, and this is reflected in the Kurdish media. There are operations against the press before every election.”

 

MLSA Co-Director Veysel Ok 

 

'THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO MONOPOLIZE INFORMATION'

 

Stating that the government is trying to turn Turkey into "A News laboratory", Ok added: "The government that wants to take over the entire media; They say, 'Let me violate rights, commit environmental massacre, be inequal to women, but let no news be made about these.' The main purpose of the government is to monopolize information. They want to destroy news sources outside their own centers.”

 

'WE SHOULD NOT LEAVE DEFENSE TO JOURNALISTS ONLY'

 

Ok, who evaluated the pressures on journalists as "judicial harassment", emphasized that the opposition and non-governmental organizations must take a clear stand against these pressures on journalists.

 

Ok said: "We are on the eve of the election and at the same time, we are in a period when violations of rights are intense. The opposition and non-governmental organizations need to raise their voices against this judicial harassment against journalists. Because journalists are the ones who reflect the work of the opposition to the public. If they disappear, the opposition will disappear and non-governmental organizations will also disappear. Defense should not be left only to journalists. All segments of society must take a clear stance against the pressures on the press.”