ISTANBUL - Being sentenced to prison for the news they reported and shared, Journalists Pınar Gayip and Semiha Şahin said: "We were targeted because we  disturbed the government. Prison sentences are part of the government's concept of silencing and making the people obedient."

 

Etkin News Agency (ETHA) editor Semiha Şahin and its reporter Pınar Gayip, who were detained on April 12, 2018 for their news and social media posts and were arrested after 7 days of detention and sent to Bakırköy Closed Prison, were released from prison with the decision of house arrest 14 months later (June 13, 2019). They were acquitted of the charge of "being a member of a terrorist organisation" and sentenced to a total of 6 years and 3 months in prison on the charge of "propagandising for a terrorist organisation" at the final hearing held on November 2, in the trial in which the journalists were tried pending trial.

 

Gayip and Şahin spoke about the pressure, arrest and prison sentences against journalists.

 

JOURNALISM IS ON TRIAL

 

Stating that in the indictment prepared against them, only the news they reported and their social media posts were included, ETHA reporter Pınar Gayip said: "The photographs taken by the police while we were doing our jobs in the streets were also included in the file. I have a camera around my neck in the photos shown as evidence of crime. In addition, my photos taken while reporting and taking notes were included in the file as evidence of crime. Even the news reported in ETHA about my detention was included in the file.”

 

THE STATE WANTED TO PRESSURE JOURNALISTS

 

Stating that they were arrested and punished because they did not do the journalism the way the government wants , Gayip said: "They are declaring us 'terrorists' and 'traitors' because we reveal the facts they want to cover up. The government attacks us to hide its war crimes. In the indictment, there was news about the self-government resistances in Kurdistan, the massacres, and those who were burned to death in Cizre Bodrums. Their aim is to block the public from being informed and to prevent the solidarity to be formed between the peoples.``

 

'WE ARE RESISTING BY REVEALING THE FACTS'

 

Saying that she started journalism knowing that she might face detention and arrest, like many of her other colleagues, Gayip said: “I was aware of all this. When we look at the press history of this country, we see that the newspapers were bombed. Journalists are beaten to death, kidnapped and disappeared. There is only one reason for this; Even if the governments change, the truth is covered up in this country. Press workers, who persistently reveal the truth, are constantly on target. I see myself as a journalist claiming to continue the tradition of the Free Press. I started the job with this claim. I did this profession to make the voices of the oppressed heard. The government is giving a clear message that the state says either journalists report the news it wants or the journalists pay the price. We are resisting by revealing the facts."

 

'WE MUST RESIST AGAINST THE PRESSURE'

 

Reminding that they were arrested at a time of serious repression against journalists, Journalist Semiha Şahin said: "Özgür Gündem newspaper was raided at that time and journalists were detained and arrested. We were released after 14 months of detention, but this time we were under house arrest for 7 months. This was also a form of punishment. The case has been going on for 4 years, but I find that it is significant that the sentence is given now. A new concept of attack on the press has been launched. The Censorship Act was introduced. This reveals how political the detention, arrest and punishments are. Any concept of attack on the press in general is first tried on the Free Press. The detention and arrest of Mesopotamia Agency and JINNEWS reporters is part of the same concept of attack. This attack is not only an obstacle to the people's right to be informed, but also a major attack against people's expressing their thoughts and organising accordingly. We must resist the pressure."

 

MA / Mehmet Aslan