Journalists are in Danger, 12 Attacks This Year

Since the beginning of the year, 12 journalists have been attacked by the security forces, various political circles, interest groups or the mafia, while on duty.

Complaints against those responsible don't prove to be deterrent.

Attackers of Tuna and Bogatekin on trial

The four people, who were arrested in relation to the attack against Durmus Tuna, the owner of the Soke Gercek (Soke Reality) newspaper on 26 July 2009, have all been released pending the outcome of the trial.

Gerger Firat newspaper's owner Haci Bogatekin was attacked by a municipality employee as he was trying to film the fire in the municipality dump. With the complaint of the journalist, mayor Arif Karatekin's brother Ilhan Karatekin is being tried by a local court. The trial continued on 22 July.

12 new cases in 2010

In addition to these two attacks last year, 12 new attacks happened so far in 2010. As he was trying to film a traffic accident in Bursa, Ihlas News Agency reporter Edip Tekin was attacked by those, who were involved in the accident. His camera was broken.

Dogan News Agency reporter Mehmet Halis Is argued that he was attacked by the police on 17 July as he was covering the protest by members of the Peace and Democracy Party, who claimed that PKK members' corpses were tortured.

According to the Media Monitoring Report dated 4 August by the Independent Communications Network (BIA) Media Monitoring Desk, in the period covering April-May-June, five reporters (Mehmet Ali Unal, Veysel Polat, Omer Celik, Murat Altunoz, Pinar Ural) and a media organisation (Dogan Media Holding) were attacked.

BIA: Local reporters not indifferent but...

BIA Media Monitoring Desk, in its previous Media Monitoring Report dated 2 May, had declared that in January-February-March, five journalists (Cenker Tezel, Emrah Guner, Tamer Topcu, Ertugrul Yilmaz and Ozan Ozhan) were attacked.

The report stated that, "Although local journalists are not indifferent about the violence directed to them, the elected or appointed officials of the state cannot be tried."

We have lost Dink and Hayirsevener, but it's not yet over!

Cihan Hayirsevener, the chief editor of the Guney Marmara'da Yasam (Life in South Marmara) newspaper of the Bandirma district of Balikesir, had been shot and killed in the middle of a street on 18 December 2009.

Before Hayirsevener, journalist Hrant Dink had been killed in Istanbul on 19 January 2007. (EO)