Dicle Fırat Journalists Association has announced its “Report on Violations of Rights Against Journalists in February 2022”. The report commemorated Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Sakun who was killed in a bombing in Kyiv on March 1 during the ongoing Russian offensive in Ukraine. “No matter what reason, we do not accept attacks against journalists. We commemorate journalist Yevhenii Sakun with respect,” the report said.

The report emphasized that journalists in Turkey faced violations of rights in February. It pointed out that tens of journalists in prisons were not released despite repeated calls. According to the report, journalists were attacked, detained, threatened and blocked from doing their job in February. The report recalled that Güngör Arslan, the owner of Ses Kocaeli Newspaper, was killed in an armed attack and that the reports of Aslan disturbed interest groups. “He was subjected to threats several times. However, he did not stop reporting. We hope that Arslan's murderers will be brought to trial, and this murder will not be forgotten like dozens of Kurdish journalists who were murdered.”

PRISON SENTENCES

The report said that journalists were subjected to investigations on false charges and lawsuits were filed against them in February. “The journalists on trial, Mehmet Şahin, Deniz Yücel, Selda Manduz, Durket Süren and Berivan Altan, were sentenced to more than 16 years in prison. This shows that journalism is still seen as a crime in Turkey. The government tells us “you can do journalism only to the extent that we allow it!” We do not accept this approach. A journalist is nobody's soldier and does not act on orders and instructions from others. The authorities should see this truth and accept it”, the report said.

CRACKDOWN ON FREE PRESS

The report also stated that RTÜK fined numerous televisions, imposed broadcast bans, blocked access to internet sites. Diyarbakır Criminal Court of Peace ordered to pull several newspapers, magazines and books off the shelf. “The publications, including Xwebûn and Yeni Yaşam newspapers, Jineoloji and Demokratik Modernite magazines, have been illegally banned. This approach is clearly hostile to the free press and has no legal basis. Ankara Criminal Court of Peace lifted the ban on Xwebûn newspaper's website, which is a clear indication of the government crackdown on free press.

MURDERS, ATTACKS, THREATS, FINES…

The report gave information on the right to life and safety of journalists. According to the report, 1 journalist was killed, and 3 were attacked last month. Police raided the houses of 3 journalists, detained 7, arrested 3, mistreated 3 and threatened 2 others. Moreover, a journalist in prison faced a violation of rights. In 11 incidents, journalists were prevented from covering incidents.

The report also addressed violations of journalists' freedom of thought and expression. It noted that 8 journalists faced investigations, 9 were brought to court, 5 were sentenced to 16 years, 4 months, 22 days in prison and a fine of 7 thousand TL. The trials of 119 journalists in 39 separate files are continuing.

According to the report, one journalist was fired in February. RTÜK fined 10 press organizations 16 times. Courts ordered to pull 7 books, 10 issues of 3 magazines, and 21 issues of 2 newspapers off the shelf. Broadcast bans were issued concerning 11 events, 2 websites were shut down, 169 news reports were blocked, and 38 social media content have been blocked.