Reporters Without Borders: Turkey must act quickly to protect journalists
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Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released a written statement following the murder of Kocaeli Ses newspaper's owner and manging editor Güngör Arslan and called on the authorities in Turkey "to adopt urgent measures to guarantee the safety of journalists".
"Turkey must act quickly to protect journalists after another is slain," the statement has read, noting Arslan "became the second journalist to be murdered in Turkey in the past 12 months amid an alarming increase in violence against media personnel by politicians and criminal groups."
"This murder comes as no surprise to anyone because Güngör Arslan constantly received threatening messages without eliciting any reaction from the authorities, who failed in their duty to protect," Erol Önderoğlu, RSF's representative in Turkey, has said about the issue.
The rapid arrest of ten suspects, including the suspected instigators, suggests that there could be an effective trial. We call for both perpetrators and instigators of this unacceptable crime to be punished severely and we will continue to follow this case closely. The government must act quickly so that journalists who are openly threatened receive the necessary protection and can work safely.
'Disturbing spiral of violence'Further in its statement, RSF has stressed the following points: "Verbal attacks and political hostility towards outspoken journalists have increased steadily in Turkey since the 2019 local elections, exacerbating the existing climate of impunity and encouraging those suspected of links to corruption to attack local reporters who cover corruption. "The constant threats and pressure on the justice system from high-ranking personalities to arrest troublesome journalists have been pulling the country into a disturbing spiral of violence that is reverberating throughout Turkish society. Local journalists, who often live in the same neighborhood as the people they are investigating, are easy targets and those who have received threats are not protected. "The journalist murdered in March 2021 was Hazım Özsu, 46, the presenter of a programme on Radio Rahmet FMin Bursa, a city 150 km south of Istanbul. He was gunned down by one of his listeners who did not appreciate his comments about 'sacred values.' His alleged murderer, Halil Nalcaci, was arrested six days later. "Prior to Özsu, the most recent previous media murder victim was Cihan Hayirsevener, the news director of the local television channel Marmara TV and publisher of the newspaper Güney Maramara Yasam, who was shot three times as he walked down a street in Bandırma, a city 115 km west of Bursa, in December 2009. The perpetrators and instigators of his murder received long jail sentences. "Many of the 40 cases of journalists murdered or missing since the 1990s have gone unpunished, including the 20 or so cases reported in southeastern Anatolia between 1990 and 1996, at the height of clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdish rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "Turkey is ranked 153rd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2021 World Press Freedom Index." |
Killing of Güngör Arslan
He was the owner and managing editor of Kocaeli Ses newspaper. He was targeted in an armed attack in his office on February 19, 2022. He lost his life at hospital. Conducting a crime scene investigation, police officers caught a suspect who had fled the scene of the incident.
Extending the investigation, the police detained three more people. Referred to the courthouse, two of the four detained suspects were arrested. With further operations, the number of arrestees has become 10.
One of the suspect arrested over the murder was 21-year-old Ramazan Özkan, who was caught with the murder weapon. Özkan alleged that Burhan Polat was the instigator of the Güngör Arslan murder.
Hasan Emre Çelik, who took Özkan to the scene of the incident and bought him a gun, and lawyer Ersin Kurt were also among the arrestees. Kurt was the person who allegedly offered Özkan money to kill.
In a series of articles recently published before his passing, Arslan accused Kurt of winning tenders from the Kocaeli municipality, thereby violating the attorney's act. Kurt was known for his close ties with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of President Erdoğan's AKP. In several social media posts, journalist Güngör Arslan frequently said that he felt threatened.
"How CAN HE work as an attorney?"
(HA/SD)