Arrested for reporting on torture, journalists behind bars for 101 days

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporters Adnan Bilen and Cemil Uğur, Jinnews reporter Şehriban Abi and journalist Nazan Sala have been arrested for 101 days on the grounds that they reported it with documents that two citizens, Servet Turgut and Osman Şiban, detained by soldiers in Çatak district in Van province, were thrown from a helicopter.

Detained in a raid on October 6, 2020 and arrested shortly afterwards, journalists have been charged with "membership in a terrorist organization" because "they reported on social incidents against the state."

According to the minutes of the court that ruled for their arrest, the reason why the journalists were considered to "have reported on social incidents against the state" was that they covered the incident where the villagers had been thrown from the helicopter.

In the ruling of arrest given for the journalists it was said, "... they engaged in agitation and propaganda; their press cards are not officially valid and, therefore, they are not press members; they reported news of burglary about the possessions protected inside the building and criticizing, degrading and aiming to smear the Republic of Turkey's methods and activities of counterrerrorism; they reported news on social incidents against the state..."

Even though the journalists have been arrested in the Van Type T Prison for 101 days, they have not yet been indicted, just as no lawsuit has been filed against them or no progress has been made in their file.

CLICK - 'It is journalism that has been arrested'

CLICK - 4 journalists arrested in Van province

CLICK - Turgut dies after being 'dropped from a military helicopter'

CLICK - Şiban says, 'They dropped us, they dropped us...'

CLICK - 'Dropped from helicopter' expression in the medical report

(HA/SD)