Media Throwing Stones at the Rights of the Child

A part of the Turkish media still carries on in ignoring the rights of the child and showing children who attended a public demonstration as "criminals". After a demonstration in Mersin (eastern Mediterranean coast), headlines in newspapers and on television read "Children let stones rain down on the police". The pictures of the children were not concealed despite the fact that this is forbidden by law. The nation-wide Hürriyet newspaper published footage on their website showing how policemen threw stones back to the children.

Police answered stones with gun fire

The headline in the nation-wide Vatan newspaper read "Children let stones rain down on the police". The news deals with the police intervening against children who threw stones by using water cannons and shooting into the air. Yet, nobody mentioned the disproportionate force used against children aged between 10 and 15, nobody questioned the situation. The use of fire arms does not compare with stones being thrown by children.

The Turkish news channel NTV brought the incident to the headlines, saying "Again, children threw stones in Mersin!" The news editors categorize the children by saying "whatever you do, these children will not come to their senses". Accusing the children in this way violates the assumption of innocence. While NTV reports about the police having used tear gas, Vatan newspaper informs its readers about the use of plastic ammunition by the police.

The headline of Star newspaper is even graver: "Children who were used by supporters of a terror organization threw stones at the police". The editorial office should be questioned how they can be so sure that the children "were used by members of a terror organization". Leaving aside the violation of the assumption of innocence, the news does not include a single line to support this information.

Hürriyet.com broadcasted footage of the demonstration on WebTv entitled "Children who threw stones were answered with stones". The video shows children throwing stones at policemen and the police throwing stones to the children. The headline implies the policemen to have become victims instead of the children. The faces of the children are not concealed although depicting them is forbidden.

Breach of the Press Law

It has to be reminded over and over again: According to article 21 of the Press Law, "persons who disclose the identities of victims or perpetrators of crimes under the age of 18 shall be sentenced to pay a major fine".

The ethic rules of the Turkish Journalists Association state, "Names and photographs of children under the age of 18 shall not be published, regardless of the child's being a defendant, a witness or a victim (killed)".

The guidelines of the International Federation of Journalists say that "the possible harm caused by all sorts of material published related to children must be reduced to the minimum". The guidelines of the Children Rights Information Network (CRIN) recommend, "Do no harm to any child; avoid questions, attitudes or comments that are judgmental, insensitive to cultural values, that place a child in danger or expose a child to humiliation, or that reactivate a child's pain and grief from traumatic events". (SP/VK)