Journalists jailed after reporting torture of citizens apply to Constitutional Court

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An application has been made to the Constitutional Court for the three journalists who were sent to prison after their reports on the torture of two citizens in the Kurdish-majority eastern province of Van.

Osman Şiban and Servet Turgut were allegedly tortured after being detained by soldiers on September 11 and Turgut eventually lost his life on September 30 when he was in intensive care treatment.

Having reported on the events, Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reporter Cemil Uğur, Jinnews reporter Şehriban Abi and freelance journalist Nazan Sala were remanded in custody for "membership in a terrorist organization" on October 9.

Applying to the Constitutional Court for the journalists, the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) stated that their right to liberty and security as per Article 19 of the Constitution and Article 5 of the ECHR was violated.

The evidence against the reporters consisted of books, newspapers and news notes, which demonstrated that they were remanded in custody because of journalism, said the lawyers.

There was no suspicion of escape and spoliation of evidence about the reporters, said the MLSA.

The real reason for their clients' arrest was the public debate about the torture of citizens, it added.

It also noted that the evidence cited for the journalists' "membership in a terrorist organization" was within the scope of journalistic activities and therefore remanding them in custody could not be regarded as "a necessary and measured intervention."

The journalists' right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by Articles 25,26 and 28 of the Constitution and Article 10 of the ECHR was violated, it noted.

With their arrest, Article 13 of the Constitution and Article 18 of the ECHR were also violated, said the MLSA.

What happened?

The police raided the office of Mezopotamya Agency (MA) and houses of several journalists, including Jinnews reporters, in Van on October 5.

MA reporters Adnan Bilen and Cemil Uğur, Jinnews reporter Şehriban Abi and Nazan Sala were detained in the raids.

Cemil Uğur, one of the detained journalists, revealed it with documents that Servet Turgut and Osman Şiban were dropped from a helicopter after they had been taken into custody by the soldiers launching an operation in the rural parts of Çatak district in Van. Treated in the intensive care unit for days after the incident, Turgut lost his life on September 30.

The Van Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which has been conducting an investigation into the allegations, has both imposed a confidentiality order on the investigation file and a ban on reports to be broadcast or published about the allegations. (HA/VK)