2 Local Journalists Attacked While on Duty

Journalist İzzetin Oktay from Duruş newspaper was attacked by the police when he covered a press release and the following events organized by the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) Siirt Provincial Organization in south-eastern Anatolia. Oktay filed a criminal complaint because he was assaulted by the police and his camera was broken.

The journalist from Duruş daily claimed that the police confiscated his pictures when he was working on a news report on Monday (7 December). Oktay argued that the policemen surrounded him and beat him with their fists and truncheons. The incident was conveyed to the Prosecutor's Office.

"They beat me with their fists and truncheons; they cursed me"

"They confiscated the memory card of my camera. They damaged my camera beyond repair by slamming it to the ground a couple of times. They beat me with their fists and truncheons. They also addressed me with insulting curses. They wanted to arrest me. I had trouble to recover. I collected the parts of my camera and moved away", Oktay described the incident.

As stated by the journalist, the crowd started a demonstration march after the press release. Oktay took pictures of the struggle against the event which involved tear gas and stones. The journalist said that only after the incident the police cut his way and attacked him.

"I have forwarded my request to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to resolve my grievances and to punish the criminal offenders. So there is one more example for the people who think that freedom of information and press freedom does exist. Is this press freedom? While these applications cannot be found anywhere else in the world any more, Siirt has to deal with these problems and we are exposed to attacks. I expect the support of all sensitive sectors".

Attack on Seyfullah Ayvalı in Tire

Anatolian news agency reporter Seyfullah Ayvalı was attacked on 2 December by municipality employees when he attempted to cover the monthly council meeting of the Tire Municipality (Izmir).

According to Ayvalı, the journalist was asked by the employees of the municipality press office to leave the assembly hall. When he said he would not leave, the municipality employees assaulted him. Ayvalı was hurt at his left eye by the attack. He filed a criminal complaint at the police station and obtained a medical report from hospital proving evidence of physical assault.

Izmir Journalists Association President Atilla Sertel drew attention to the fact that verbal and physical attacks against journalists have increased. Sertel said in his written announcement, "We expect the people involved in the attacks to be brought to justice as soon as possible".

Local journalists seek for their rights

According to the latest Media Monitoring Report published by the Independent Communication Network (BİA), 6 journalists were exposed to physical attacks in the months of July, August and September; 5 of them took legal action. (EÖ/VK)