Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association (DFG) announced its report on rights violations against journalists in Turkey in October.
“In October, 9 of our colleagues were prevented from covering the news and were subjected to violence and threats by the police. The most obvious example of this was the attacks against Free Press employees. On 13 October, the police attacked a rally in Amed (tr: Diyarbakır) against the isolation of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and prevented four female journalists from covering. On 15 October, 3 journalists were prevented from covering the ‘No to war, peace now’ demonstration in Başverimli town of Silopi district of Şırnak province and were detained. The government targets journalists by increasing the pressure and attacks against those who want peace. On the one hand, it talks about ‘peace’, and on the other hand, it increases the pressure and attacks against those who want peace. In October, 9 journalists were detained, 11 were subjected to ill-treatment and 7 were threatened,” said the DFG report released on Saturday.
The report stated that 104 journalists were put on trial in October, 11 journalists were sentenced to 19 years, 8 months and 13 days in prison, 7 journalists were subject to investigations and 6 journalists were prosecuted.
‘While the government banned access to 119 social media accounts, many citizens were detained on the grounds of their social media posts,’ the report said, drawing attention to the crackdown on Yeni Yaşam newspaper and Açık Radyo.
“One of the important developments in October was the Parliamentary Justice Committee passing the ‘Influence Agency’ law proposal, which was opposed by journalists and the opposition,” the report noted.
The report concluded with the following data on rights violations against journalists during the month of October: “1 journalist was attacked, 1 journalist’s house was raided, 9 journalists were detained, one journalist was imprisoned, 11 journalists were threatened, 9 journalists were prevented from covering the news, 7 journalists were subjected to ill-treatment. 38 journalists are currently behind bars.”
