Turkey: Systematic Police Brutality Targeted Three Women Journalists In Different Cities On The Same Day

Location: Turkey,  Van&İstanbul   
Date: September 1, 2022

Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe

On World Peace Day, journalists were subjected to police violence in different parts of the country. In Van, Mesopotamia Agency correspondent Berivan Kutlu was threatened with death by the police, while Jinnews reporter Zelal Tunç was also battered by the police. In Kadıköy, following the World Peace Day statement by Human Rights Association, (IHD), journalist Zilan Azad was subjected to physical assault by the police and was detained. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) demands an immediate end to systematic police violence.

September 1, World Peace Day, was once again a day for journalists, far from peace when they faced violence. After HDP's Peace Rally in Van, citizens started chanting slogans on foot. Following the march, Mesopotamia Agency reporter Berivan Kutlu and Jinnews reporter Zelal Tunç were prevented from filming by the police. The police threatened journalist Zelal Tunç, who was trying to capture the moments of the arrest of protesters, by hitting her on the arm and threatening her with death. Speaking to CFWIJ, Berivan Kutlu shared her experiences as follows:

“While I was shooting in the middle of the road, a police officer came running to me. He told me not to shoot or he would shoot me and no one would find my dead body. The same officer also tried to pull a gun on journalists. Meanwhile, another police officer and an HDP deputy intervened. Police also beat the journalist Mesut Bağcı, who was covering the news in the same area, and broke his camera.”

Footage by Jinnews editor Elfazi Toral

The situation was not different in the statement made regarding the 1 September Peace Day in Kadıköy. The area where the statement was made was besieged by the police. All journalists were prevented from filming for "security reasons". The police attacked citizens and journalists who followed the statement. Around 70 people, including journalists, were detained. Journalist Zilan Azad was detained by the police after being subjected to physical violence. Azad described the torture he was subjected to in these words:

“I shot videos of women who were besieged by the police. I was sending these videos to my colleague to publish the news. I suddenly looked up and realized that I was blockaded by the police too. When the police detained us, I mentioned that I am a journalist and I just do my job. But no one listened to me.”

Explaining the violence she experienced after being detained, Azad also said, “While I was being put into the police vehicle, I was pulled in different directions by 6-7 people. They pulled me from my arm, leg, and hair. They were detained by handcuffs. When we got into the vehicle, they continued to beat me.”

Azad also explained that after she was taken into custody, she was accused of being a provocateur in the police vehicle. Azad said that the police chief tightened the handcuffs even more despite that she said that the handcuffs tightened her arm.

“They deliberately scratched our wrists while trying to open the handcuffs with a blunt blade. The cops offered to take their clothes off. When they learned that I am LGBTQ+, I was exposed to homophobia. They made fun of my name in Kurdish. When we were taken to the hospital, we were not allowed to see the doctor. We were not taken to the emergency room. There was a man upstairs claiming to be a doctor. When I was put back in the car, the cops threw ice in my face.

The handcuffs of the other 15 people were released, but they did not remove my and my queen friend’s handcuffs. They tightened my handcuffs so much that I screamed in pain. Right now I have beat marks and swelling all over my body.”

Kadıköy’de #1Eylül Barış Günü açıklamasına polis saldırdı. Aralarında gazetecilerin de olduğu 70 yakın kişi gözaltına alındı. Polis, gazeteci Zilan Azad’ı (@zilanazadd) işkenceyle gözaltına aldı. pic.twitter.com/bs9j80XmA6

— SiyasiHaber (@SiyasiHaberOrg) September 1, 2022

Journalist Berivan Kutlu, speaking to CFWIJ, stated that this violence will never intimidate journalists. Kutlu continued his words as follows:

“We know that this is a systematic attack against journalists to silence them. The police attack us because we cover police violence against the public, but no journalist will stop reporting the truth.”

The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) documents that police violence, which has been increasing in Turkey in recent years, has started to become disproportionate. Turkey ranks first in 2022 in cases of violence against women and LGBTQ+ journalists. 63% of the physical violence we record all over the world is perpetrated by the police only in Turkey. We stand by all journalists who bravely practice their profession no matter what. This atmosphere of violence must come to an end immediately. Journalism is not a crime.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

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