18/07/2024 | Writer: Kaos GL
An expert report has been prepared regarding the detention of journalists Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım, and Yıldız Tar, who were detained in Ankara while protesting the arrest of their colleagues.
According to a report by Hayri Demir of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), while the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) documented that the three journalists were beaten by the police during their detention, the expert report did not include any violence during the detention. It was revealed that the police camera, which should have been documenting the arrest, was directed to film another area after the journalists were handcuffed behind their backs while lying on the ground.
It was revealed that the police camera, which should have been documenting the arrest, was instructed to “film the people there,” directing it towards a different area. As a result, the footage of the rest of the detention was not included in the report.
The expert report only included video footage of the moment when the three journalists were placed on the ground and handcuffed by the police. Additionally, the report documented the moments when the detained journalists were prevented from protesting. It also revealed that journalists, who were sitting in a café before the obstruction, were forcibly removed from the protest area by the police.
What happened?
Journalists attempting to protest the arrest of their colleagues in Diyarbakır at the Atatürk Monument Square in Ulus were stopped by police, who claimed that press statements were not allowed in the area. Sibel Yükler, Deniz Nazlım, and Yıldız Tar, who were inside an arcade in the area, were beaten and detained by police officers. Photographs included in the DVD Monitoring and Detection Report documented the three journalists being beaten to the ground before their detention.
The journalists detained under torture, were released the same day after giving their statements. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) prepared a report confirming that the journalists had been beaten. However, the prosecutor’s office decided not to pursue the criminal complaint against the police officers for charges including “torture,” “insult,” “failure to report an offense,” “deprivation of liberty,” and “injury by excessive use of force”.
Shortly after the decision of non-prosecution against the police officers, a lawsuit was filed against three journalists on charges of “violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations”.
Tags: human rights, media
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