The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) released its March report on "Violations Against Journalists". Accordingly, 1 journalist was killed, 6 j were detained and 11 received penalties.

The report said that 106 journalists appeared before the judge last month. The report revealed that the journalism profession was targeted.

“One of the main purposes of the crackdown on press workers is to prevent the public from receiving information. The government does not want the truth to be revealed to society”, the report said.

'NEWS ARE BLOCKED'

“While more than 100 journalists appeared before the judge in March, journalists were sentenced in various cases. As can be seen in our report, the most common practices are advertisement bans and the RTÜK (Radio and Television Supreme Council) penalties for televisions. In addition, internet journalism was blocked for various reasons.

"ALL JOURNALISTS SHOULD BE RELEASED"

Recalling that journalists Adnan Bilen, Cemil Uğur, Şehriban Abi and Nazan Sala, who had been arrested for 6 months for reporting the torture of the villagers thrown from a military helicopter in Van, were released at their first hearing, the report said, “This was a belated decision. Our friends should never have been arrested but should have been rewarded instead for the facts they reported. JinNews reporter Beritan Canözer was among the women detained yesterday. Beritan should be released as soon as possible. All journalists should be released and should continue to practice their profession.”

"CRACKDOWN SHOULD BE STOPPED"

“These policies of the AKP-MHP government have reached a level that may end the freedom of the press. Repressive policies should be abandoned and the rights of both journalists and society should be respected. The journalists should be allowed to cover all kinds of news within the framework of basic principles.”

The rights violations against journalists in March were listed as follows:

* Journalists detained: 6

* Journalists attacked: 1

* Journalists killed: 1

* Journalists barred from covering news: 3 incidents

* Journalists Investigated: 2

* Journalists sentenced: 11 sentenced to 29 years 6 months 16 days in prison, 14 thousand 80 TL fine

* Journalists on ongoing trials: 36 files, 106 journalists

* Newspapers imposed advertisement bans: 7 days for 2 newspapers

* RTÜK fines: 4 penalties for 2 TV channels

* Internet Access Block: 120 news, 2 websites

* Number of Arrested Journalists as of 06 April 2021: 76