Media Report: 3 journalists killed, 299 detained, 80 arrested in 3 months

Turkey experiences the worst days of the history of its press, according to the quarterly Media Report of Contemporary Journalists Association’s Ankara Branch.

Contemporary Journalists' Association (ÇGD) issued its quarterly Media Report for the months of October, November and December. During these three months, 3 journalists were killed, 80 journalists were arrested, 299 journalists were detained, 32 journalists were assaulted, 7 foreign journalists were expatriated, 2622 journalists were left unemployed, 5 media offices were attacked, 157 media and 9 publication firms were shut down, 3 media centers were raided, broadcast ban was placed on 24 events, access to 20 websites were banned, and 624 press cards and 32 parliamentary cards were cancelled.

CENSORSHIP AND PRESS CARD CANCELLATIONS

With the emergency decrees of the state of emergency, press cards of the employees of closed-down Hayatın Sesi TV were cancelled. Directorate General of Press and Information (BYEGM) cancelled the press cards of TV director Gökhan Çetin and news editor Sultan Özer, and sent the following message to Hayatın Sesi TV employees: “Your press card has been cancelled due to the closure of your institution. Please return your cancelled press card to İstanbul Provincial Directorate.” (3 October 2016)

MEDNUÇE TV AND RENGİN RADIO SHUT DOWN

Eutelsat satellite company stopped the broadcast of Europe-based Med Nuçe TV, a TV channel that Turkey blames as pro-PKK and seeks for its closure. Rengin Radio, which broadcasts in Kurdish, Turkish and Arabic from Mardin, closed down and raided. Police and treasury officials sealed the radio station after documenting the materials inside. (3 October 2016)

ÖZGÜR RADIO CLOSED DOWN

Özgür Radio became the newest media organ shut down by the AKP with an emergency decree based on the state of emergency. Police raided the Özgür Radio building in İstanbul and detained 16 employees. (4 October 2016)

DECISION OF NON-PROSECUTION FOR GERMAN COMEDIAN

The court case against the German comedian Jan Böhmermann, who was accused of insulting President Tayyip Erdoğan, was dropped. In court, Böhmermann emphasized that what he did was ‘just a joke.’ (4 October 2016)

CLOSED MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS SEALED

Police officers raided and sealed the offices of İMC TV, Hayatın Sesi TV and TV 10, which had been closed down with an emergency decree. (4 October 2016)

JOURNALIST BAŞLANGIÇ DEFENDED HIMSELF

Journalist Celal Başlangıç, who had been sued for participating in the ‘On-Duty Chief Editor’ campaign before the closure of Özgür Gündem, defended himself in İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court. Başlangıç described his prosecution as ‘conjectural’ and stated that he would continue his solidarity. (4 October 2016)

PASSPORTS OF JOURNALISTS YILDIRIM AND BAŞLANGIÇ SEIZED

Passports of Cumhuriyet Newspaper columnist Ayşe Yıldırım and her journalist partner Celal Başlangıç were seized at Atatürk Airport as the couple was on their way to Brussels for a business trip.

ASSETS OF SHUT-DOWN CHANNELS GO TO TRT

As the trustee procedure was launched for the seizure of the assets of media organizations that were closed down with emergency decrees, TRT announced that it would keep these equipment at its storage units until the end of the legal procedure. (5 October 2016)

TÜRKER AND IŞIK APPEAR AT COURT

Journalists Yıldırım Türker and Fehim Işık, who had been sued for participating in the ‘On-Duty Chief Editor’ campaign before the closure of Özgür Gündem, appeared at the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court. (6 October 2016)

EVRENSEL REPORTER ARRESTED

Evrensel reporter Cemil Uğur, who had been detained while doing his job in Mersin, was released on probation after 16 days but got rearrested and charged with ‘membership in an organization’ and ‘propagating for an organization.’ (6 October 2016)

ARRESTED KIZILKAYA: I WAS TORTURED

İnan Kızılkaya, the Chief Editor of the shut-down Özgür Gündem newspaper, wrote a petition to the court and stated that guards at Silivri Prison strip-searched him, and put him and former Özgür Gündem News Editor Zana Bilir Kaya under intensive isolation. (6 October 2016)

PASSPORT OF JOURNALIST GÜL SEIZED

Passport of Cumhuriyet newspaper Ankara correspondent Erdem Gül, who won the Leipzig Prize for the Freedom and the Future of the Media, could not attend the award ceremony because police confiscated his passport. (8 October 2016)

SIT-IN BY SHUT-DOWN MEDIA WORKERS

Employees of 10 TV channels including İMC TV and Hayatın Sesi launched a 3 day long sit-in campaign in Diyarbakır. (10 October 2016)

JOURNALIST HASAN CEMAL TESTIFIES

T24 columnist and P24 Independent Journalist Platform Founder Hasan Cemal testified at court after İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Media Crimes Investigation Bureau accused him of ‘propagating for terrorist organization, praising and publishing the views of members of terrorist organization’ after his piece entitled ‘Fehman Hüseyin’ which was published on July 11, 2016. Cemal stated that his article and opinions were part of his occupational activities and that journalism is not a crime during his defense. (11 October 2016)

DİHA REPORTER İDRİS SAYILGAN DETAINED

DİHA’s Muş correspondent İdris Sayılgan was detained during a house raid of the police at Yeşilyurt neighborhood in Muş. (17 October 2016)

CAN DÜNDAR SUED FOR ‘SOLIDARITY WITH ÖZGÜR GÜNDEM’

Can Dündar and Şanar Yurdatapan were sued for participating in the ‘On-Duty Chief Editor’ campaign before the closure of Özgür Gündem. (17 October 2016)

JOURNALISTS SUED FOR CARICATURE

Shut-down Bugün newspaper’s Ankara correspondent Adem Yavuz Aslan was sued for ‘insulting the president’ for a caricature he shared on Twitter when he was abroad. (20 October 2016)

JUDGE PREVENTS JOURNALISTS

A judge at İstanbul 40th Criminal Court of First Instance arbitrarily prevented journalists from attending the court case of 4 Turkish bath employees that were accused of using sexual violence on two French women at a bath in Karaköy in March, 2015. Cumhuriyet reporter Canan Coşkun was assaulted when she tried to enter the courtroom. (20 October 2016)

MAN ENGAGED IN THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON DÜNDAR RELEASED

İstanbul 28th Criminal Court of First Instance released Murat Şahin, who had tried to assassinate former Cumhuriyet News Editor Can Dündar and injured NTV reporter Yavuz Şenkal in front of Çağlayan Courhouse on May 6, 2016, after Şahin served 5 and a half months in prison. (21 October 2016)

DİHA REPORTER SAYILGAN ARRESTED

DİHA’s Muş correspondent İdris Sayılgan, who had been detained during a house raid of the police at Yeşilyurt neighborhood in Muş on October 17, 2016, was arrested and sent to prison. (25 October 2016)

EVRENSEL NEWSPAPER DIRECTORS RELEASED

İstanbul 13th Criminal Court of First Instance released Evrensel Chief Editor Fatih Polat and News Editor Vural Nasuhbeyoğlu, who had been accused of ‘propagating for an organization’ and ‘praising crime and the criminal.’ (25 October 2016)

‘SOLIDARITY WITH ÖZGÜR GÜNDEM’ CASE CONTINUES

Evrensel newspaper columnist İhsan Çaralan, DİSK Press Syndicate Director Faruk Eren, journalist Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and Chief Editor of the shut-down Özgür Gündem newspaper İnan Kızılkaya, who had been sued for participating in the 'Editors-in-Chief on Watch' campaign before the closure of Özgür Gündem, appeared at the Istanbul 13th and 14th Heavy Penal Courts in Çağlayan. (25 October 2016)

DIRECTORS OF THE SHUT-DOWN ÖZGÜR GÜNDEM AT COURT

The prosecution of the shut-down Özgür Gündem newspaper’s former Chief Editor Eren Keskin and News Editor Reyhan Çapan, who had been accused of ‘propagating for a terrorist organization’ continue at the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court. (25 October 2016)

PROSECUTION OF ATILIM NEWSPAPER’S EMPLOYEES CONTINUES

The prosecution of 16 correspondents and columnists of Atılım newspaper continue at the İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court. (25 October 2016)

ACCESS TO DİHA BANNED FOR THE 47TH TIME AND TO SENDIKA.ORG FOR THE 12TH TIME

Courts banned access to Dicle News Agency (DİHA) and sendika.org once again. Information and Communication Technologies Authority banned access to DİHA for the 47th time and to sendika.org for the 12th time. (25 October 2016)

INTERNET SHUT DOWN AFTER THE DETENTION OF KIŞANAK AND ANLI

Internet service was shut down across the Eastern and Southeastern regions after the detention of Amed Co-mayors Gültan Kışanak and Fırat Anlı (25-26 October 2016)"