ISTANBUL - TGS Chairperson Gökhan Durmuş, who stated that 16 journalists imprisoned in Amed(Diyarbakır) have been detained from their professional activities for nearly a year without any concrete evidence, described the detention process as "punishing the other".

 

In addition to the successive laws and attacks in recent years, 25 journalists were detained and arrested in just 5 months, especially in attacks against the Free Press. According to the March 2023 report of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG), at least 87 journalists are detained in Turkey and Kurdistan.

 

The indictment of 16 journalists arrested on June 16, 2022 as part of the Amed-based investigation was prepared 10 months later (March 28). There is also a possibility that the indictment prepared against 22 people, 16 of whom are detained, on the allegation of "being a member of a terrorist organization", may be returned by the court. Gökhan Durmuş, Chairperson of the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS), made evaluations about the detention of 16 journalists.

 

PENALTY AS ACTUAL

 

Stating that 16 arrested journalists were actually sentenced for 10 months, Durmuş said: “Unfortunately, the judicial system in Turkey has turned to this in recent years. First, they arrest journalists or arrest people within the scope of freedom of thought and expression and make them actually punished. They are then released at the first hearing. There was such an order."

 

Stating that there is no concrete reason for the detention of 16 journalists legally, Durmuş said: "The detention process as "the punishment". The government punishes “other” journalists, especially according to it. There is no situation where journalists arrested in Diyarbakir really committed crimes. They will actually have punished those they see other than themselves. It is not a very important situation for them to be acquitted later and to impose a penalty from the higher court to the state.”

 

FIRST TARGET JOURNALISTS

 

Criticizing the fact that journalists are not held in prison for months on the basis of allegations before their crimes are finalized, Durmuş said: “This situation is a major obstacle to the freedom of the press and an order that destroys the freedom of the press. 16 of our colleagues have been unable to make news for nearly a year, and they cannot deliver news to their readers and audiences. This is not an acceptable situation in terms of freedom of the press. While the censorship law was being discussed and journalists were reacting to it, our colleagues in Diyarbakır were arrested and the agenda was changed. When we look at recent history, when they want to change something politically, journalists are targeted first and journalists are arrested first. Then they turn to other segments of society.”

 

THE AIM OF STATE IS NULLIFYING JOURNALISM

 

Touching on the purpose of the repression against journalists, Durmuş said: "The aim is to both hide the truth and intimidate the society. Of course, the solidarity among journalists and the solidarity within professional organizations also have an effect on this. Journalism, the most popular profession of the society, has been transformed into the most disreputable profession, especially during this ruling period in Turkey. Policies targeting journalists were consistently implemented.”