Journalists' Union of Turkey: Reporters Detained in Trustee Protests Should be Released

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The Diyarbakır Representative Office of the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS) has issued a written statement regarding the detention of reporters during the trustee protests in the Kurdish-majority cities.

The statement signed by TGS Diyarbakır Representative Mahmut Oral said the following:

"Unfortunately, we are the first community in our country to be pointed at by those sitting in the seat of power in every deadlock in the social and political sphere, as if the creators of what happened are media organizations and journalists. It happened again!

"As is known, following the trustee appointments, protests have been held in many cities, districts and every corner of the region and the country, especially these three cities.

"Protests have often been tried to be suppressed by extrajudicial methods. Hundreds of citizens have been subjected to violence, injured and detained. It was not the journalists who intervened or ordered the intervention.

"Release at least 10 of our friends engaged in journalistic activities. As always, we condemn this attack on the journalists' freedom of spreading the news and the right of the community to hear it. We demand the immediate release of our friends." (RT/VK)