Police operations targeting journalists covering th recent protests in Turkey have continued with the detention of two more reporters in morning raids today.
Nisa Sude Demirel, a reporter for the daily Evrensel, and Elif Bayburt from the Etkin News Agency (ETHA) were to the anti-terror branch of the İstanbul Security directorate after being apprehended, according to reports by their respective outlets.
Demirel had been youth protests and university boycotts for several days, said Hakkı Özdal, Evrensel editor-in-chief. "Nisa is a young and highly capable journalist who documented this historic youth resistance. We will get Nisa back," he wrote on social media.
The DİSK Press Workers (Basın-İş) union criticized the raids, saying, calling them an attack on press freedom and the public’s right to know.
“You cannot silence the truth by silencing journalists. The detained journalists must be released immediately," the union said.
Journalists detained during İmamoğlu protests
Several journalists covering the protests have been detained since demonstrations began on Mar 19, following the detention of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
On Mar 25, seven journalists were arrested under charges of violating the Law no 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations, a day after they were detained in house raids. The journalists —AFP photojournalist Yasin Akgül, Now Haber reporter Ali Onur Tosun, photojournalist Bülent Kılıç, reporter Zeynep Kuray, İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality photographer Kurtuluş Arı, Bakırköy Municipality photographer Gökhan Kam, and Hayri Tunç— were released on Mar 27 after legal objections were filed.
Another journalist, Sendika.Org reporter Zişan Gür, was detained while covering the Saraçhane protests on the night of Mar 25. Gür, who suffered a broken nose while in custody, was released the next day under judicial supervision.
In İzmir, three journalists were also detained over protest coverage. Barış İnce, a columnist for BirGün, and photojournalist Murat Kocabaş were taken into custody during house raids on Mar 24 and released on Mar 27. Journalist and İzmir Journalists Association board member Yağız Barut, who was detained on Mar 25, was also released on Mar 27.
Another journalist who covered the Saraçhane protests, Emre Orman, was also targeted in the police operations. His home was raided on Mar 24, but he was not present at the time and was not detained. A warrant was later issued for his arrest. Orman turned himself in to the police on Mar 27, gave a statement, and was released the same day.
Also, Turkey’s media regulator has imposed strict penalties on pro-opposition television channels for their protest coverage. Sözcü TV received a 10-day full broadcast suspension, while Halk TV, Tele 1, and Now TV were issued fines and episode bans for certain programs.
Separately, a court ordered the blocking of hundreds of X accounts, including that of independent news outlet bianet, though the ruling has not yet been enforced.
(VC/VK)