Turkey: Police Physically Restrain Journalists Covering A Protest Against Ankara Mayor
Location: Turkey, Ankara
Date: November 18, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Credit: Demet Aran
Journalists were subjected to police brutality following a demonstration against the Ankara Mayor. The Chamber of Architects planned to protest against the protocol signed by the Ankara Mayor for a university to have private property about Kurtuluş Park. However, police forces barred the crowd as well as journalists from filming the event. Six journalists, three of them women, were also physically assaulted. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the security forces comply with the circular decision that was suspended by the State Council.
#Turkey: Police barred journalists, including three women, from filming protests against #Ankara Mayor @mansuryavas_en’s decision to handover ownership of #KurtuluşPark to a private university. Reporters were physically restrained despite showing press cards.
— #WomenInJournalism (@CFWIJ) November 18, 2021
Video: @demet_aran pic.twitter.com/LpQOK9EfiC
TMMOB Chamber of Architects Ankara Branch organized a press briefing at TED University to cancel the Kurtulus Park Protocol signed between Ankara Mayor and TED University. However, the police intervened in the gathering. They also impeded the journalists who came to follow the events at the university.
The security forces asked the journalists for their official press IDs provided by the Directorate of Communications and did not recognize journalists' International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) press cards. The journalist, whose right to report was also violated, Demet Aran shared the video she took with CFWIJ. It was seen that the police used force to stop journalists from doing their job. The video shows that one police officer forced a woman journalist to stay away from the scene using words, “the press must listen to us”, “stop filming”, “you are not journalists”, “your badge is not a press ID”
Dokuz8News editor Esra Tokat, was confronted similarly by the police while following student events at the Ankara Courthouse. Esra went there yesterday (November 17, 2021) to follow the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine’s students demanding justice for the sexual assault of a woman by a veterinarian who was a former lecturer at the university. The journalist was threatened with legal action for filming the event. The reason behind this intervention was the same as today.
On April 27, 2021, a circular was issued by the General Directorate of Security to interfere with press freedom in Turkey. The new police circular was about banning all audio-visual recordings of citizens at protests. The police instructed officers to prevent people from filming or recording security forces on smartphones while they are on duty, citing that "a violation of officers privacy" and “prevented public duty". However, as a result of the application of press organizations to the State Council for the suspension and annulment of the circular, a lawsuit was filed, and it was unanimously decided to stop the execution of the circular. The decision emphasized lifting restricts the freedom of information and press.
The CFWIJ is extremely concerned about the escalating police violence and pressure against journalists. Journalists are responsible for informing the public and reporting developments. The police forces violated the journalists' right to report and the public's right to information. We call on the Turkish authorities to implement the decision of the State Council.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
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