News Stories on Children Face Monetary Penalty

İbrahim Yıldız and Aykut Küçükkaya, responsible with publishing in Cumhuriyet Newspaper, faced monetary penalty of 200,000 liras in total due to news pieces about children who were exposed to the police violence. 

Since 25 April 2013, Yıldız and Küçükkaya have published 14 news pieces about children who were injured or lost their lives because of the police violence. They have been judged under the claim that they violated article 21/c of Press Law and they are convicted in all of case files. 

Sentence For News Stories on Berkin Elvan

The announcement of the verdict of 8 case files were deferred and the attorneys of the newspaper conveyed 14 cases to the Supreme Court of Appeals. 

İstanbul 2nd Assize Criminal Court issued 8 news articles a fine of 140,000 liras. The news pieces were about Berkin Elvan, who was severely injured because of a teargas canister struck on his head and died 286 days later. The court deferred the announcement of the verdict of only two case files.

The only “guilty” one is media

The news pieces were about high school student Dilan Alp, injured on head by the police during 1 May celebrations in 2013, high school student M.A.T., claimed to have been injured due to a tear gas canister struck by police during Gezi Resistence in July 2013, 13-year-old A.A., assaulted in Ankara in June 2013 and middle school student, whose leg was broken due to intervention of police with baton in incidences occurred after a basketball match in Giresun in May 2013.

Another news piece mentioned about 15-year-old S.E., having been target of bullets fired from cross-border in November 2013, while he was watching TV at home in Ceylanpınar, Kilis. 

The court convicted the journalists without questioning if those articles about children are beneficial for child victims and public opinion, but instead it charged them with overtly writing names and surnames of underage children.

Media is in charge

Related article of the Press Law predicts that the sentence for the journalists will not be less than 10,000 liras. However, even news pieces on press releases made by family of the children are punished. 

Since 25 April 2013, news pieces with the headlines of “Tear Gas Toward Brain” , “Police Violence Makes Almost Crippled”, “They Shoot the Child”, “Dilan’s Situation is Critical”, “High School Student Struggles to Survive”, “My 14-year-old Son…”, “Forth Operation for Berkin”, “He Was Going to Buy a Loaf of Bread”, “Bullets Go Across the Border”, “Killer of Berkin Will Be Acquitted”, “Humanity Is in Coma”, Tears of Father”, “Heroic Action is Terrific”, and “Clamour of the Family” have been published. All of them were subjected to be judged. (EÖ/MUY/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.