ANKARA - Explaining what she and 8 of her colleagues went through during the detention and arrest process, JINNEWS reporter Habibe Eren said that they were arrested upon the instruction given by the TEM chief to the court.

 

JINNEWS reporter Habibe Eren, who was taken into custody during the raid on her house in Amed on October 25 as part of the Ankara-based investigation, and who was arrested with 8 colleagues by the court she was brought to on October 29 due to her professional activities, told about her experiences from detention to arrest.

 

Sharing the information that 11 journalists were detained in the house raids on October 25, and that her colleague JINNEWS reporter Derya Ren was detained along with her in the raid on her home, under another file, Eren said: "We saw Selman Güzelyüz at the police station. After an hour, they brought Öznur Değer from Mardin Kızıltepe. Later, we learned that Derya was taken to court and subsequently arrested."

 

15-HOUR HANDCUFFS JOURNEY

 

Stating that Değer and Güzelyüz were handcuffed behind back and put in the car with her, Eren said: “We set off for Ankara with 30 police officers. In addition to the police officers, who were in the vehicle with long-barreled weapons, a 5-person gendarme was accompanied by their long-barreled weapons. When we arrived in Urfa, we saw that they had brought MA reporters Ceylan Şahinli and Emrullah Acar. We spent about 15 hours in handcuffs, accompanied by a 'police army' of 4 people. During this time we were absolutely not allowed to talk and contact each other. The handcuffs were not removed except for one meal break and the need for the toilet. We arrived in Ankara in the morning, we were brought to Ankara TEM after the hospital check. All journalists were held in separate jails during the 4-day detention period. Many of our needs were not met. When we saw the treatment, they made us feel where the order came from and that we would be arrested."

 

POLICE SUPERVISOR: I AM THE GOVERNMENT

 

Stating that they were taken to another area for fingerprinting on the second day of detention, where Öznur Değer was kicked and tortured by the police chief on the grounds, Eren said: "When Öznur resisted, she was laid face down on the ground, handcuffed upside down and dragged three floors down the stairs. Meanwhile, when we protested with all our might and told them that they were torturers, the same threat continued for us. When we said that you will be put on trial, the TEM chief said that he has seen governments, he has been for 30 years, nothing will happen to him and he is the state. When we asked for the torture to be recorded, we got the answer 'write it on the walls'. Meanwhile, Öznur said she was threatened with death.”

 

POLICE SHOT VIDEO FOR PRO-GOVERNMENT

 

Stating that they were handcuffed behind back and shot by police for release in pro-government media, Eren said: "The prosecutor to whom I testified both asked illegally and had some statements written in the transcript in a way that I did not say. When my lawyer objected to this situation, after a while, he called the police and took him out. We were handcuffed back on. And without reading it with handcuff, I hastily signed the statement in handcuffs. And I was made to stand for about 1 hour and 45 minutes throughout the deposition."

 

INSTRUCTIONS TO ARREST FROM POLICE TO JUDGE

 

Noting that hours later, 9 people were sent to arrest, and when they started to testify at the judge on duty, it was close to midnight, Eren said: “The last statement was taken at the judge on duty at 3 am. The judges announced the decision 10-15 minutes later. And we were all arrested. However, during the judge's statements, 3 TEM police entered each statement and before the decision was announced, the police again entered the court and gave instructions. After the arrest warrant, we were all handcuffed and taken out of the courthouse. Meanwhile, we were beaten because we shouted the slogan 'Free Press cannot be silenced'."