The Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) announced that in the last 100 years 61 journalists have been killed because of a hostile manner and merely for the reason of their profession.
As the first victim TGC mentioned journalist Hasan Fehmi Bey who was murdered on the Galata Bridge in the centre of Istanbul in 1909, saying that ever since the press history of Turkey has been interspersed with unforgettable moments of grief. Today (17 November) the association and family members of the assassinated journalists will commemorate the victims in a meeting.
Relatives of 4 journalists will join
TGC declared that the family members of 4 murdered journalist will join: Nükhet İpekçi as the daughter of Millyet newspaper editor Abdi İpekçi who was killed in 1979; Ali Naki Kaftancıoğlu together with his wife Dr. Canan Katancıoğlu for his father Ümit Kaftancıoğlu who was murdered on 11 April 1980; and Meryem Türkmen whose younger sister Metin Göktepe was assassinated on 8 January 1996 as a journalist of Evrensel newspaper. Additionally, Mehmet Emeç confirmed his participation. His father Çetin Emeç, Hürriyet newspaper editor at the time, was killed on 7 March 1990.
The meeting will start at 5.00 pm with an opening speech of TGC chairman Orhan Erinç. After that, authors Hıfzı Topuz and Nail Güreli will rise to speak. They wrote a book entitled "A bullet to freedom" and will talk about their views of the matter. The meeting is going to continue with contributions from the relatives of the murdered journalists.
A documentary made by Günel Çantak, student of the Radio-Television Department in the Communications Faculty of the Isparta Süleyman Demirel University, will also be shown.
61 journalists killed
TGC reported the names and work places of the murdered journalists besides their place and date of death as follows:
Hasan Fehmi Bey / Serbesti ('Freedom'), Istanbul, 6 April 1909
Ahmet Samim / Sada-yı Millet, Istanbul, 19 July 1910
Zeki Bey / Şehrah, Istanbul, 10 July 1911
Şair Hüseyin Kami / Alemdar ('Leader'), Konya, 1912 or 1914
Hasan Tahsin (Osman Nevres) / Hukuk-u Beşer ('Human Rights'), Izmir, 15 May 1919
Silahçı Tahsin / Silah ve Bomba ('Weapon and Bomb'), Istanbul 27 July 1914
İştirakçi Hilmi / İştirak ('Contribution'), Medeniyet ('Civilization'), Istanbul 1922
Ali Kemal / Peyam-ı Sabah, İzmit 1922
Hikmet Şevket, 1930
Sabahattin Ali / Marko Pasha, Edirne 1948
Adem Yavuz / Anka Agency, Cyprus, 27 August 1974
Ali İhsan Özgür / Politika ('Politics'), Istanbul, 21 November 1978
Cengiz Polatkan / Hafta Sonu ('Weekend'), Ankara, 1 December 1978
Abdi İpekçi / Milliyet ('Nationality'), Istanbul, 1 February 1979
İlhan Darendelioğlu / Ortadoğu ('Middle East'), Istanbul, 19 November 1979
İsmail Gerçeksöz / Ortadoğu, Istanbul, 4 April 1980
Ümit Kaftancıoğlu / TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Company), Istanbul, 11 April 1980
Muzaffer Fevzioğlu / Hizmet ('Service'), Trabzon, 15 April 1980
Recai Ünal / Demokrat, Istanbul, 22 July 1980
Mevlüt Işıt / Türkiye ('Turkey'), Ankara, 1 June 1988
Seracettin Müftüoğlu / Hürriyet ('Freedom'), Nusaybin (eastern Turkey), 29 June 1989
Sami Başaran / Gazete ('Newspaper'), Istanbul, 7 November 1989
Kamil Başaran / Gazete, Istanbul, 7 November 1989
Çetin Emeç / Hürriyet, Istanbul, 7 March 1990
Turan Dursun / İkibine Doğru ('Towards 2000') and Yüzyıl Dergileri ('Century Magazines'), Istanbul, 4 September 1990
Gündüz Etil, 1991
Mehmet Sait Erten / Azadi, Denk, Diyarbakır 1992
Halit Güngen / İkibine Doğru, Diyarbakır, 18 February 1992
Cengiz Altun / Yeni Ülke ('New Country'), Batman (eastern Turkey), 25 February 1992
İzzet Kezer / Sabah ('Morning'), Cizre (eastern Turkey), 23 March 1992
Bülent Ülkü / Körfeze Bakış ('View to the Gulf'), Bursa (western Turkey), 1 April 1992
Mecit Akgün / Yeni Ülke, Nusaybin, 2 June 1992
Hafız Akdemir / Özgür Gündem ('Free Agenda'), Diyarbakır, 8 June 1992
Çetin Ababay / Özgür Halk ('Free People'), Batman, 29 July 1992
Yahya Orhan / Özgür Gündem, Ceylanpınar (Syrian border), 9 August 1992
Hüseyin Deniz / Özgür Gündem, Ceylanpınar, 9 August 1992
Musa Anter / Özgür Gündem, Diyarbakır, 20 September 1992
Yaşar Aktay / Serbest ('Free'), Hani (eastern Turkey), 9 November 1992
Hatip Kapçak / Serbest, Mazıdağı (eastern Turkey), 18 November 1992
Namık Tarancı / Gerçek ('Truth'), Diyarbakır, 20 November 1992
Uğur Mumcu / Cumhuriyet ('Republic'), Ankara, 24 January 1993
Kemal Kılıç / Yeni Ülke, Şanlıurfa (eastern Turkey), 18 February 1993
Mehmet İhsan Karakuş, Silvan (eastern Turkey) 13 March 1993
Ercan Gürel / HHA, 20 May 1993
İhsan Uygur / Sabah, Istanbul, 6 July 1993
Rıza Güneşer / Halkın Gücü ('People's Power'), 14 July 1993
Ferhat Tepe / Özgür Gündem, Bitlis (eastern Turkey), 28 July 1993
Muzaffer Akkuş / Milliyet, 20 September 1993
Nazım Babaoğlu / Gündem, 12 March 1994
Erol Akgün / Devrimci Çözüm ('Revolutionary Solution'), 1994
Seyfettin Tepe / Yeni politika ('New Politics'), 28 August 1995
Metin Göktepe / Evrensel ('Universal'), Istanbul, 8 January 1996
Kutlu Adalı / Yeni Düzen ('New Order'), Cyprus, 8 July 1996
Selahattin Turgay Daloğlu, Istanbul, 9 September 1996
Reşat Aydın / AA ('Anatolian News Agency'), TRT, 20 June 1997
Ayşe Sağlam Derince, 3 September 1997
Abdullah Doğan / Candan Fm, Konya (central Anatolia), 13 July 1997
Ünal Mesutoğlu / TRT, Manisa (west coast), 8 November 1997
Mehmet Topaloğlu / Kurtuluş ('Independence'), Adana 1998
Ahmet Taner Kışlalı / Cumhuriyet, Ankara, 21 October 1999
Hrant Dink / Agos, Istanbul, 19 January 2007 (EÖ/VK)
