22 From Özgür Gündem Daily Taken Into Custody, Released

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22 persons including 20 journalists taken into custody in the police raid on the closed Özgür Gündem daily were brought to court.

Özgür Gündem employers Elif Aydoğmuş, Sevdiye Ergürbüz, Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Amine Demirkıran, Günay Aksoy, Burcu Özkara, Kemal Bozkurt, Önder Elaldı, Ender Öndeş, Sinan Balık, Davut Uçar, Fırat Yeşilçınar, Zeki Erden, Doğan Güzel, Ersin Çaksu and Bayram Balcı; Dicle News Agency (DİHA) correspondents Özgür Paksoy and Mesut Kaynar,  as well as Gökhan Çetin and Gülfem Karataş from İMC TV, Yılmaz Bozkurt from İstanbul Chamber of Medicine and Doğu Publishing House employer Hüseyin Gündüz have testified to Umut Tepe, Metin Küçükerdem and Emin Aydinç charged with “resisting police.”

The journalists were released after giving testimony. They denied the accusations of having resisted the police and noted that they were exposed to insult and beating by the police during detention.

Journalists beat, tortured and threatened

İMC TV muhabiri Gülfem Karataş gözaltı sırasında kendisine küfür ve hakaret edildiğini, tecavüzle tehdit edildiğini, ırkçı küfürler savrulduğunu, sırtına zincirle vurulduğunu, gözlüğünün kırıldığını, darp edildiğini ve yedi saat boyunca ters kelepçeyle tutulduğunu söyledi.

İMC TV correspondent Gülfem Karakaş has noted that she was exposed to insults and verbal assaults such as “slut” and “fickle,” and was threatened with rape, called racist curses, hit on the back with an iron chain, had her glasses broken, was beaten and handcuffed from behind.   

What had happened?

İstanbul 8th Court of Peace shut down Özgür Gündem newspaper. The decision said that the newspaper will be “temporarily shut down” but did not mention how long it would remain closed.

Following the decision made by İstanbul 8th Criminal Court of Peace to shut down Özgür Gündem daily, police raided the newspaper’s building. 22 were taken into custody.

Police have also launched a raid into the apartment of Filiz Koçali and Eren Keskin as well as Sinan Zarakolu, the son of publisher, columnist and journalist Ragıp Zarakolu, who was registered at this address. (EA/DG)