Distributors of Daily Evrensel Fined for ‘Disturbing Peace’

* Photo: Evrensel

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The distributors of daily Evrensel have been fined by the police in Turkey's eastern province of Elazığ on the alleged ground of disturbing peace.

On December 29, when its "Almanac 2019" supplement was issued, a group of people started distributing Evrensel in solidarity with the  daily. Intercepted by the police while distributing newspapers in Yıldız Dağları Neighborhood, the group was given a criminal record check by the police and told, "There are complaints against you, you are disturbing peace".

Accordingly, the distributors were fined 153 lira for "disturbing peace" as per the Article 37 of the Misdemeanours Law No. 5326, which stipulates that "a person disturbing others to sell products or services shall be fined 50 lira."

They were previously detained

The voluntary distributors of Evrensel newspaper were previously given administrative fines and taken into custody by the police.

In 2015, six people distributing daily Evrensel at Maltepe Square in İstanbul were battered and taken into custody by the police. There were also women and young people among them.

In 2017, an Evrensel reader named Mesut Baylav was intercepted by two armed police vehicles while he was distributing the newspaper in Hürriyet Neighborhood of Turkey's Mediterranean province of Adana. Forced into the vehicle by the police, Baylav was battered there.

In May 2019, student Adnan Karataş was given an administrative fine while he was selling Evrensel newspaper at Çukurova University. (HA/SD)