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Attacked
March 23
Burhan Ozbilici, Associated Press (AP), ATTACKED
Kemal Gokcanli, Channel 6, ATTACKED
Serkan Cinier, Interstar, ATTACKED
Police officers beat photographers and cameramen who were covering a police raid on an Ankara University building that had been taken over by students protesting tuition increases. Among those assaulted were Ozbilici, a photographer with the AP; Gokcanli, a cameraman for the privately owned Channel 6 television station; and Cinier, a cameraman with the privately owned Interstar television station. The two cameramen were hospitalized after the attack. Ozbilici's account of the incident indicated that police intentionally targeted the journalists. CPJ called on the Turkish government to discipline the police officers who brutalized the journalists.
April 18
Hürriyet, ATTACKED
Gunmen raked the Istanbul headquarters of Hürriyet, one of Turkey's leading dailies, with automatic gunfire as they sped past in a car. No injuries were reported, but bullets shattered the windows. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 29
Radio Aktif, ATTACKED
Radio Aktif, a local radio station in the Mediterranean coastal town of Mersin in southern Turkey, was set on fire by unidentified assailants. The fire destroyed all the station's equipment, tapes, and documents. No one was injured in the blaze.
June 8
Mehmet Guc, ATV, HARASSED
Sevil Erdogan, Siyah Beyaz, HARASSED
Sukran Can, Demokrasi, HARASSED
Nadire Mater, IPS, HARASSED
Atilim reporter, HARASSED
Devrimci Emek reporter, HARASSED
Mete Cubukcu, ATV, ATTACKED
Musa Agacik, Milliyet, ATTACKED
Other journalists, ATTACKED
Six reportersÑGuc of the privately owned ATV; Erdogan of the mainstream daily Siyah Beyaz; Can of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Demokrasi; Mater of IPS; and two unidentified journalists, one with the leftist Atilim and the other with Devrimci Emekwere detained by police while covering a demonstration in Istanbul against poor working conditions for civil servants. Two other reporters, Cubukcu of ATV and Agacik of the mainstream daily Milliyet, were kicked and punched by police. Other journalists were also assaulted. Police dispersed the demonstrators, who had not obtained permission for the rally, and detained more than 250 people.
July 15
Hatice Tuncer, Cumhuriyet, ATTACKED
Kaan Saganak, Cumhuriyet, ATTACKED
Irfan Kurt, Evrensel, ATTACKED
Muhittin Erdogan, Kurtulus, ATTACKED
Aysun Gunduz, Atilim, ATTACKED
Sevil Erdogan, Siyah Beyaz, ATTACKED
Alper Turgut, Cumhuriyet, ATTACKED
Efe Erdem, Milliyet, ATTACKED
Yuksel Koc, Global Daily, ATTACKED
Saban Dayanan, Mavi Radio, ATTACKED
Tuncer, a reporter for the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet; Saganak, a photographer with Cumhuriyet; Kurt, a journalist with Evrensel; Erdogan, a reporter for Kurtulus; and Gunduz, a reporter with Atilim, were beaten and detained by police while trying to cover a demonstration against police brutality in front of the office of the governor of Istanbul. Police dragged several of the journalists away by their hair, broke cameras, and confiscated film. The journalists were later released. Police also beat five other photographers and reporters. According to eyewitness accounts, police intentionally targeted journalists. Several reporters who were attacked fled to the office of the Turkish Journalists Association. They were chased by three police officers, who forced their way into the association's office. The secretary general of the association, Leyla Tavsanoglu, objected to the police raid, telling the police that they were pursuing legitimate journalists. The police countered by claiming the journalists were terrorists. CPJ wrote a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan expressing fear that unchecked police brutality against journalists will have a chilling effect on press freedom in Turkey. CPJ urged the Turkish government to bring to justice those officers responsible for the attacks and to issue clear directives to the police aimed at preventing the abuse of journalists.
For more information contact mideastweb@cpj.org