Journalist who revealed child abuse goes to prison while abuser is free

Photo: Cemil Uğur/Twitter

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Journalist Sinan Aygül, who revealed an incident of a 60-year-old man abusing a 16-year-old girl in the eastern province of Bitlis, went to prison yesterday (June 30) to serve his five-month sentence.

Sinan Aygül, the editor-in-chief and grant holder of the Bitlis News portal, was sentenced for "violating the confidentiality of the investigation" after releasing the footage in July 2019. His sentence was upheld in early June.

Speaking to reporters in front of the Tatvan Open Prison, Aygül said, "The sentence I have received is not very important for me but punishing a news report, especially a news report that revealed child abuse, will take us to a completely different point. Let's not allow the restriction of the freedom of the press and the justification of harassment and rape in such a way."

Aygül is expected to be released on probation after a short time.

Releasing a statement on the issue, the Bitlis Journalists' Association said the court ruling on Aygül was "a document of shame in terms of the freedom of the press and expression."

In the video subject to the case, the face of the abused child was blurred and her name was not mentioned. Almost all major national media outlets used the video he made.

The abuser was nabbed and arrested after the reports. He was sentenced to five years in prison for "qualified sexual assault" and released.

Journalist Aygül was sentenced to 10 months in prison for "violating the confidentiality of the investigation." The appeals court reduced the sentence to five months in early July. (HA/VK)