Six People Arrested for Attack on Local Journalist

Of the twelve people alleged to have been involved in the attack on Durmuş Tuna, owner  of the local Söke Gerçek newspaper in the Söke district of Aydın province, six have been arrested.

On 28 July, twelve people had been taken into custody, accused of seriously injuring the journalist. Of nine people questioned in the Söke 2nd Criminal Court of Peace on 29 July, three were released and six arrested.

Tuna, however, says that only those who had been used to attack him had been arrested, but that he had heard a person shouting during the attack, "Hit him in the head, kill him."

Tuna was beaten in front of his 8-year-old daughter and 11-year-old niece by 8-10 attackers with sticks on 6 July. He suffered fractures in his right arm.

Tuna told bianet after the attack that he had received threatening phone calls for three months because he had been reporting on municipal bids. On 29 June, says the journalist, mayor Necdet Özekmekçi warned him in his office, saying: "Look, you should know that now not only you, but also your wife and children will get hurt."

The Turkey Journalists Society (TGC) has supported Tuna in his call for the instigators to be found and prosecuted.

Meanwhile, the Press Council has also condemned the attack on journalist Haci Boğatekin in Gerger, province of Adıyaman. He had been beaten after taking photos of a fire that had broken out in an area where municipal workers dumped waste. The council said that an attack on journalists was an attack on the right of people to be informed.

The council said that Boğatekin had been attacked by İlhan Karatekin, brother of the mayor, on 28 July. The journalist suffered partial fractures in his arm, cracks in his nose and a wound to his brow. The council has been unable to contact the mayor.

The Press Institute Association had previously condemned the attack on Boğatekin, calling on authorities to prevent any recurrence. (EÖ/AG)