Intimidation attempt targets Sendika.org after publishing translation of Charlie Hebdo issue
Yeni Akit, a pro-government newspaper, took aim at the sendika.org news portal for publishing the Turkish translation of a Charlie Hebdo issue that included depictions of Prophet Muhammad.
This translation recently became accessible following a Constitutional Court judgment.
Under the headline "Great Shamelessness from Sendika.org! They proudly republished the insult to our Prophet," Yeni Akit included the names of the Editorial Board and Advisory Board members from sendika.org in their news report.
Alleging that sendika.org insulted Prophet Muhammad, Yeni Akit removed the names from the article after facing crticism.
"We know that we are not alone"
In response, sendika.org released a statement, asserting that, given the current atmosphere of provocations openly encouraged by the AKP-MHP coalition, they cannot dismiss or remain silent about this provocative cyber lynching campaign and the targeted naming of the Editorial Board members.
They emphasized that such targeting is part of a systematic intimidation operation aimed not only at specific individuals or media outlets but at all opposition voices. They asserted that sendika.org, as a symbol of the fight against internet censorship and a publication that has faced numerous attacks, lawsuits, investigations, police raids, detentions, and fines since its establishment in 2001, will not yield or remain silent in the face of these threats.
While promising to initiate necessary legal processes against those publishing provocative content, they stated they would not succumb to these blatant threats originating from the Islamist-fascist government, vowing to stand up against any similar actions through legitimate means.
Support for sendika.org
Professional organizations also expressed their displeasure with Yeni Akit and showed support for sendika.org. Consequently, Yeni Akit targeted DİSK Basın-İş (Press Workers' Union) this time.
DİSK Basın-İş released a statement: "Yeni Akit targeted Sendika.Org newspaper and its editorial board members. We stand by Sendika.Org, which has faced numerous attacks during its 23-year publication history."
In response, Yeni Akit published a news article with the headline "Where do they get this courage? DİSK Basın İş supports sendika.org's insult to our Prophet (pbuh)!" claiming that sendika.org disrespected the religion and that DİSK Basın-İş supported the newspaper.
What happened?
After the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in France on January 7, 2015, where militants killed 12 people, including cartoonists, and injured 11 others, the magazine published a cover with the headline "Everything is Forgiven." The cover depicted Prophet Muhammad shedding tears while holding a sign saying, "I am Charlie."
The magazine's Turkish translations, including those by sendika.org, were blocked by court decisions. Recently, the Constitutional Court ruled that the access restrictions imposed, including those related to Charlie Hebdo publications, violated freedom of expression. Following the lifting of the ban, sendika.org republished the article, leading to Yeni Akit's coverage and subsequent targeting. (HA/VK)