Reporters Without Borders (RSF) – Turkey called for the prosecution of the police officers who tortured Mesopotamia Agency (MA) editor Sedat Yılmaz and Evrensel Newspaper journalist Eylem Nazlıer while in custody.

RSF Turkey representative Erol Önderoğlu demanded that the police officers who tortured journalists be identified and prosecuted and said "Keeping people handcuffed while in custody for 15 hours amounts to torture. We want the security guards who harassed Eylem Nazlıer in Istanbul and kicked journalist Sedat Yılmaz in the head in Ankara, to be identified and prosecuted."

Journalists exposed to torture

Sedat Yılmaz, editor of the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) stated that the police officers tortured him, and that he had hearing loss because he was kicked in the head.

Journalists Eylem Nazlıer, Pınar Gayip, Serpil Ünal, Yadigar Aygün, Esra Soybir and Zeynep Kuray, were taken into custody in Kadıköy while trying to protest the arrest of their colleagues.  After their release, Nazlıer said: “They put on reverse handcuffs. When I said they couldn't wear reverse handcuffs, the police told me ‘You will learn to shut up’ and threw me into their vehicle. Later, they brought Serpil Ünal to the detention vehicle. The police started slapping and punching me in the face."