Police Cannot Humor The Murderer

Istanbul Police Department announced that they were planning to file a lawsuit against the newspaper Radikal for publishing in the headline an article titled “Did you have no shame?” by İsmail Saymaz about another set of friendly Ogün Samast photographs that the police officers had taken.

The police department construed the report as an insult.

The Radikal report criticized the fact that Ogün Samast was smiling in the pictures, looking very happy. This, the article claims, casts a shadow on the objectivity of the police.

"The initiative of the police department cannot be to humor the murderer”

Answering bianet’s questions regarding the article, Saymaz emphasized that he was doing his job when he took these pictures as the police officers too when they took Ogün Samast’s pictures. However, he could not help mentioning that one of them was not doing his job right.  

He also stated that while he, as a journalist, could use his initiative to critique, the police did not have a similar right when it came to taking the pictures of a murderer. Saymaz concluded by stating that he would be honored to be sued in this case.

Police Department: There is an insult to the Police Department for doing his job

The lawsuit will probably be filed under article 301/2 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which is about “denigrating the police organization publicly.”

The Police Department claims that they were doing their job when they took Ogün Samast’s pictures in accordance with the Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of the Police and placed them in his file. The department insists that the reporter insulted the department by intentionally misrepresenting the procedure.  (EÖ/EZÖ)