Journalism organizations denounce attack on Halk TV by government supporters

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Journalism organizations have denounced the attack on Halk TV journalists during a live broadcast near a wildfire zone in İçmeler, Muğla.

In the early hours of today (August 6), a group of five people attacked the journalists and threatened further attacks if they "do anything wrong." The mayor of Muğla's Marmaris was also a guest in the program.

As wildfires have been raging across Turkey since July 28, Muğla, a popular tourist destination in the country's southwest, was one of the hardest-hit provinces.

While the government has faced heavy criticism over insufficient aerial response to the fires, it has blamed the opposition municipalities. Halk TV journalists were attacked because of their critical coverage.

The five attackers were detained after the incident, four of them were released shortly after. Meanwhile, it was revealed that one of the them was a former district executive of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Marmaris and another one's social media posts supporting the government surfaced.

Releasing a statement after the attack, Halk TV said it will continue its responsibility to "enlighten the public despite all the bullying." It vowed to continue following and reporting the facts.

"Making the media pay a price"

The Turkish Journalists Association (TGC), the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS) and the Press Council denounced the attacks today.

The TGS said on Twitter that "They carried out a physical attack after the RTÜK's threat didn't work," referring to a previous statement by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) that TV outlets would face the "heaviest sanctions" if they continue "ignoring fires that were successfully put out" and focus on the ongoing fires.

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The TGC said the government and the groups affiliated with it should abandon the policies intended to "make the critical media pay a price."

"Journalism is a respectable and honorable profession that serves not the government but the public's right to information," it said.

"For the existence of democracy in Turkey, journalists should be able to do their job freely ... However, with the attacks on journalists, who are constantly being targeted because of doing critical news, the news is prevented from reaching the public," it said. "The last example of this happened in Muğla."

"We once again remind that attacks on journalists are also a crime against humanity. We expect the detained assailant won't be rewarded with impunity," said the TGC.

The Press Council said, "The bullies who came to the area where the live broadcast was made said, 'If you say anything wrong, we'll prevent you,' and attacked the guest journalists and the broadcast team.

"Because of the wisdom of the experienced team of Halk TV, the program continued and the bullies, who were clearly provoked by the government, could not achieve their goal."

It said the attacks should receive the sentence they deserved and the government should respect the freedom of the press. (HA/VK)