Journalist Zehra Doğan Released: Sise Bingöl Says ‘I Will Stand Upright on My Feet’
Click to read the article in Turkish
Arrested journalist and painter Zehra Doğan has been released from prison.
Zehra Doğan was sentenced to 2 years, 9 months and 22 days in prison due to her social media posts between the dates of December 21, 2015 and December 9, 2016 and for having reported on the notes of a 10-year-old child in Nusaybin, Mardin on December 22, 2015.
Alptekin Ocak, an attorney of Zehra Doğan, announced her release on his social media account:
"The sentence of client Zehra Doğan has not been deliberately executed for a year. While the [terrorist] propaganda as per the Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law is not a terror crime, she was not released 'because she did not submit a petition to leave the organization and stayed in a partisan ward.' Today is a good day; may the light of art bring joy to the geography."
"Children wanted me to draw trees"
Speaking to bianet after her release, Doğan has said,
"I was waiting for the day when my sentence would come to an end, I am very happy. I am sad that I have left my friends inside. I extend my thanks to every single person who supported me during this process.
"While I was leaving the prison, the voices of children and their mothers were coming behind the door. They were calling after me and said, 'Zehra, Zehra, you are going to see the trees, children and birds now. Zehra, draw their pictures and send them to us'."
"Condition of Grandma Sise is very bad"
Doğan has also touched upon the health condition of 85-year-old ill prisoner Sise Bingöl, with whom she was staying in the same ward:
"Grandma Sise is taken to see a doctor once in two days. They hospitalize her for two days. Then, she is discharged from hospital and taken to prison again. Her condition of health is very bad.
"The director of the prison brought her one of those armchairs used in workplaces and offices so that she could sit more comfortably. In response, Grandma Sise said, 'Look, did you see, they will not release me, that is why they have given me this armchair so that I can sit comfortably.'
"Though her condition of health is very bad, she still says 'I will stand upright on my feet.' She wanted me to convey this message to everyone."
"I will keep on painting"
Emphasizing that her awareness for painting improved and clarified further in prison, Doğan has stated:
"They are creating such a perception on us that only the wealthy is entitled to engage in arts. In fact, it is the people who perform art. People are both the ones who narrate and understand art. They have always taught and imposed on us that art or painting is the work of another class. However, it is the exact opposite. The masses of people are the ones who bring art into existence.
"I see that art can spread without being commodified or commercialized. And I will keep on working and painting on these issues. We can convey and produce art without turning it into a commodity. Now, what I am supposed to do is to continue painting my pictures and being a carrier of art."
She drew pictures on life in prison
After her prison sentence was upheld in June 2017, Doğan was sent to Diyarbakır Type E Prison, where she was not allowed to draw or paint pictures using crayons. In response, Doğan produced paint by using plant roots in the prison as well as menstruation blood.
Being sent to Tarsus Prison in Mersin afterwards, Doğan also drew the pictures of ill prisoner Sise Bingöl and two-year-old baby Dersim, with whom she was staying in the same ward.
CLICK - Journalist and Painter Zehra Doğan Sends Pictures That She Draws in Prison
|
Who is Zehra Doğan? Graduated from Southeast Dicle University as a teacher of arts, journalist and artist Doğan beginning since the foundation of JİNHA (Women's New Agency) in 2012 until its forcible closure in 2016 worked as a reporter and editor for the agency. She reported from the Mardin province and districts since Jul. 24, 2015 when the clashes erupted and curfews were imposed and painted the pictures of the conflict areas. She was detained on Jul. 23, 2016 in Nusaybin from where she was reporting, and was later arrested under charges of "membership in a terrorist organization" and "terrorist propaganda". Doğan was released on Dec. 9, 2016 by a Mardin court, yet she was sentenced to 33 months in the final hearing on Mar. 22, for sharing her paintings on the social media and reporting on the notes of a 10 year old girl Elif Akboğa. Following the endorsement of her sentence by the local appeals court Doğan was jailed on Jun. 12, 2017 and placed in Diyarbakır Prison and transferred to the distant Tarsus Maximum Security Prison after winning the IWMF award. During the time when Doğan was residing in the Diyarbakır Type D Prison, the prison administration did not provide her with necessary equipment. Doğan, then, produced dye from plant roots and menstruation blood. She drew paintings using the dye. Famous muralist Banksy in protest of her conviction reflected Zehra Doğan's painting with the legend "She is convicted to 2 years 9 months and 22 days for painting this picture" and posted his graphic depicting Doğan behind bars. |
(EMK/SD)