Journalists’ Organizations Protest ‘Seizure’ of Deutsche Welle Interview

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The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the NGO Index filed a complaint with the Council of Europe (CoE) over the seizure of records of Deutsche Welle’s (DW) interview with Minister of Youth and Sports Akif Çağatay Kılıç.

According to a report by Deutsche Welle, Minister Kılıç was invited to DW’s programme “Conflict Zone,” hosted by Michael Friedman, and was asked about the July 15 coup attempt, the subsequent detentions, and mass redundancies, as well as the status of press freedom and women in Turkey.

Following the interview, DW was reportedly instructed not to air the interview, and when Friedman objected, the footage was confiscated by the Ministry. DW Director General Peter Limbourg described the incident as a "blatant violation of press freedom”.

Ministry denies claims

The Ministry of Youth and Sports had stated that the claims of confiscation were not accurate and argued that Friedman had gone beyond the original aim of the interview and made accusations. Kılıç had therefore exercised his right to prohibit the broadcast, stated the Ministry, deniying the accusation that it confiscated the material.

Criticisms

The German Government has also criticized the Ministry for having confiscated the footage. Government Spokesperson Steffen Seiber had said: “If the video has been forcibly taken, then it does not correspond to our idea of press freedom”.

The incident also sparked criticisms in the German media. The Berliner Zeitung said freedom of the press was “dead” in Turkey, and commented: “If giving a wrong answer means being in danger in a country, then freedom expression is totally out of question”. (YY/DG)