Journalist Mehmet Halis İş was stopped by the police when he was trying to fulfil his duty as editor-in-chief of the Midyat Habur newspaper and reporter for the Doğan News Agency. The police intervened when İş recorded footage of a conflict between members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) after a concert on 6 June in Midyat, a city in the south-eastern province of Mardin.
The Midyat Habur newspaper announced that they had footage of the incident and claimed that this sort of intervention became systematic in recent times. The video features journalist İş's voice trying to explain that he is doing his job.
Rewarded journalist attacked
The local daily announced that journalist İş was attacked two times within the past year. The newspaper called the prosecutor on duty to investigate this overt attitude regarding the intimidation of journalists.
"It is very difficult to comprehend this unjust and conscious attitude against Mehmet Halis İş who has been rewarded several times for his research and journalism by the Prime Ministry, the United Nations (UN), the Midyat District Governorship, the Federation of Turkish Journalists and non-governmental organizations".
"We will continue with our free publication"
The daily emphasized its efforts not to leave the people in a society that experienced censorship and interventions against the press to a hopeless future without any prospects.
"Midyat Habur is a newspaper that has been closely connected to the principle of unbiased publications from the day it was founded till the present. With the news reports about incidents and individuals the newspaper attained its estate. This is self evident. (...)"
"What is the aim? Are they aiming at intimidation, oppression and eventually aligning our words? We repeat: an advanced democracy is only possible with a free press".
"We announce to the public and to our readers that we as the Midyat Habur family will carry on with our free, principled and unbiased concept of journalism despite all obstacles. We will follow up this sort of attacks against our newspaper and our reporters before the judicial authorities. And we will cooperate with international press institutions", the newspaper declared. (NV/ŞA/VK)
