Journalism Organizations Denounce 'Speedboat Attack' on Journalists

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Journalism organizations have denounced the incident that they call an "attempted murder."

A boat carrying three journalists, Cenker Tezel from the daily Hürriyet, Onur Aydın from Habertürk and Metehan Ekşi from TV 100, was hit by a speedboat in Bodrum, Muğla on June 5.

The captain of the boat was seriously wounded after the crash while the boat was broken into pieces. The journalists were lightly wounded as they jumped off the boat "at the last moment."

Security cameras of another hotel in the area recorded the incident.

The police have launched an investigation into the incident, taking the captain of the speedboat into custody.

"An attempted murder"

Journalism organizations today (June 7) released statements, calling the incident "an attack by Maça Kızı Hotel against the journalists to prevent them from taking pictures".

The Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) tweeted on the attack:

"The Maça Kızı Hotel in Bodrum made a speedboat to crash into a rowboat that was carrying journalists to prevent them from taking pictures. Cenker Tezel from Hürriyet, Onur Aydın from Habertürk and Metehan Ekşi from TV 100 had a narrow escape from death.

"This is attempted murder. We will follow the investigation!"

The Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) released a written statement, saying, "It is understood that this attack was conducted in order to prevent our colleagues from taking pictures."

While the TGC sais that the detention of the captain of the boat is "pleasing," it called the authorities to start a legal process against those who instigated the attack. (EMK/VK)