09/01/2024 | Writer: Selma Koçak
Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım and Yıldız Tar, journalists who were detained during the protest against the arrest of their colleagues in Diyarbakır, told the torture they were subjected to in the first hearing of the case.
The first hearing of the case filed against journalists Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım and KaosGL.org editor-in-chief Yıldız Tar, who were charged with “violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” for allegedly “making the police to beat themselves”, began today (9 January) at the Ankara 71st Criminal Court of First Instance. MLSA co-director lawyer Veysel Ok, lawyer Muhammet Ünsal and lawyer Gulan Çağın Kaleli Koçer from MLSA’s legal department attended the hearing together with the three journalists. Journalists, including Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) Press Labour President Turgut Dedeoğlu and journalist Hüseyin Aykol, also observed the hearing.
“I was subjected to ill-treatment from the police that verged on borderline harassment”
According to a report by MLSA’s Hayri Demir, Yıldız Tar was the first to make a statement at the hearing, which began with identification. Tar told that they have been working as a journalist since 2013 and they had been there to be in solidarity with their arrested colleagues and also in order to perform their duty as a journalist and continued as follows:
“Even before we reached the area where the press conference was to take place, we were detained by the police in the passageway with heavy force. There was no warning. I didn’t even realize what was happening because I was being flung around. While I was handcuffed behind my back, the police tortured me by pressing on my neck. During the torture we were subjected to ill-treatment from the police that verged on borderline harassment.”
Tar pointed out that there are more than one press statement a day at the place where the press statement was to be held and they follow all of them as a part their duty. Tar also noted that they had filed a criminal complaint about the ill-treatment of the police and that they were taking this complaint to the Constitutional Court.
Deniz Nazlım told that the press statement that was prevented by the police was about the journalists who were imprisoned at that time and said the following:
“In other cities, the same statement was made. But Ankara was the only city where there was a ban. I went there to follow the news as well as to follow another press conference. Ulus Square, after Kızılay, is a place where press conferences are held and it is decided by the Governorship.”
“They prevented me by saying that there is no constitution”
Nazlım also stated that it is a constitutional right to make a press statement and continued as follows:
“I went there to speak about the imprisoned journalists. While we were on our way there, the police officers suddenly blocked us. The policemen said ‘no one can make a statement about terrorists’. When we reacted, they wanted to take us away. While Sibel and Yıldız were being detained by the police, I wanted to record it, but they prevented me from doing so by beating me. They started to drag me towards the street. But then they handcuffed me behind my back with violence and insults, saying that I was blocking the road. When I told them that I was exercising my constitutional right, they said ‘there is no constitution’.”
Nazlım added that the violence started at around 1 o’clock and continued until the evening, and that he had filed a complaint against the police officers.
“The police used violence as well as harassment”
Sibel Yükler also denied the accusations, saying that she had been a journalist since 2007 and had covered dozens of press events in the area. Explaining that she had gone to Ulus Square on the day of her detention upon the call of DISK Press Labour, Yükler said:
“The journalists were not in the street, we were all in the passage. The police, who are not a judicial body, called the journalists we wanted to make a statement about ‘terrorists’, in violation of the presumption of innocence. We were prevented by force. We were suddenly attacked by the police. There, I witnessed intense police brutality. The police were dragging the journalists out onto the pavement. Then they claimed that we were occupying the pavement. But it was the police themselves who were occupying the pavement.”
“They are covering up their crimes”
After the journalists, the lawyers made their statements. Lawyer Veysel Ok pointed out that Ulus Square was one of the areas designated by the Ankara Governorship for press statements and that this was also announced on the website of the Governorship. Recalling that the call to hold the press conference was made by DISK, the oldest trade union in Turkey, Ok went on as follows:
“From this point of view, the claim that the action was unlawful is an attempt to cover up the police officers’ own crimes. It will be seen that the basis of the charge is the minutes kept by the police. In these minutes it is not clear whether the police officers are acting as police officers or as judges. They even tried to analyze the clothing and body language of the clients. In addition, the ‘so-called protest’ is mentioned. They said, for example, ‘to defend members of terrorist organizations’. Who are they? They are arrested journalists who are also my clients. They were released after two months and will be acquitted at the end of the trial. The police officers made this assessment without any court ruling.”
“Journalistic activities were prevented”
MLSA Co-Director Veysel Ok rejected the charges against his clients, saying: “On the contrary, my clients’ journalistic activities and their right to organize demonstrations were prevented. These people wanted to go to the area designated by the governorate, but the police prevented them from doing so. We filed a complaint about the torture, but a decision was made not to prosecute the case without any investigation.”
“The police officers who wrote the report should be heard in court”
Ok demanded that the 23 police officers who signed the protocol be heard in court. He also demanded that a letter should be sent to the Ankara Governorship to ask if the area was designated for the press statement and if there was a decision to prevent it. Ok also stated that the footage in the file was intermittent and unclear and asked the police to demand uninterrupted and complete footage of these moments. Ok also demanded that other journalists who were present at the time the police prevented the press conference be heard as witnesses.
“They have wounds on every part of their bodies”
MLSA lawyer Muhammet Ünsal presented the journalists’ medical reports to the court after their beating and said: “From the details in the report, it is clear that they have wounds on almost every part of their bodies. In this condition, the police officers committed a crime. The details are in the reports as well.”
“The report that was drawn up by the police officers is counterfeiting official documents”
Attorney Gulan Çağın Kaleli Koçer also mentioned the police records:
“I was also there on the day of the press conference planned to be held. In front of our eyes, all my clients were taken away under torture. They were not reminded of their rights in any way, and when we asked to meet with them, we were told that we could not meet with them because they were not in custody. The report drawn up by the police officers with the reflex of fiction is counterfeiting official documents. The procedural language is also the defensive language. The policemen tried to defend themselves.”
Announcing the interim decision, the judge decided to set a deadline for the notification of the witnesses to be heard in accordance with the requests of the defense lawyers. He also decided to request the criminal complaint for which the decision not to prosecute was made and the uninterrupted camera footage of that day, and to write to the Ankara Governorship to ask whether the aforementioned statement had been reported or not.
It was decided to consider the request to hear the police officers as witnesses after the other evidence has been collected.
The next hearing will be held on April 25, at 13:30.
Tags: human rights, media
