Journalists gathered in Istanbul on Saturday evening to protest against the ongoing repression and trial of colleagues. On Monday a new hearing of the so called KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) against journalists.
Thirty two journal out of the thirty six journalists who were arrested on 20 December 2011 in the scope of so-called KCK operation are still in prison. A total of forty four journalists, most of whom work for the Kurdish media, are accused of alleged ties with the KCK organization.
In a written statement on the protest demonstration in solidarity with jailed press members, a group of journalists said they will take to the streets to respond to the pressures of the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government and to demand freedom for journalists behind bars. “As the AKP government continues to jail journalists as a part of its concept to suppress and intimidate all opponent circles, we are taking to the streets to announce that we will not end our search of the truth.”
In Taksim the journalists read letters from their colleagues Kenan Kırkaya, Ramazan Peköz, Yüksel Genç and Hatice Duman, who are in prison.
Reading the press statement for the demonstration Eda Yıldırım underlined that Turkey ranks 154th in the list of 179 countries when it comes to freedom of the press and reminded that there are 76 journalists in prison.
Yıldırım called for a mass participation at the hearing on Monday.