Three Arrested For Journalist Attack

Three suspects have been arrested on charges of attempted murder after attacking Corlu Press Members Association Chairman Erdal Ozcan with wooden clubs. Press Council says attack in Tekirdags Corlu township is crude and primitive.

Erol Önderoğlu

Three men aged in their twenties have been placed under arrest and sent to prison on charges of attempted murder in connection with a July 26 physical assault on Corlu Press Members Association chairman Erdal Ozcan.

The three suspects identified by their initials A.D. (26), A.A (24) and U.C. (23) were detained by the police after attacking Ozcan with wooden clubs while he walked towards his house in the Corlu township of Tekirdag.

While the cause of the attack is not known, Ozcan is an accredited journalist working for the local Devrim newspaper and the Corlu representative of the mass circulation daily Hurriyet as well as Dogan News Agency.

Ozcan was most recently responsible for a series of news reports over the past two months related to changes in the development and construction procedures of the Corlu Municipality.

The newsman was saved from his assailants by local citizens and taken to the Corlu State Hospital where he was treated for his injuries.

Turkey's Press Council condemned the attack on Erdal Ozcan with its General Secretary Gokalp Yazir referring to the assault as "crude and primitive".

Yazir said it was sad to witness such attacks on communication freedom and called for measures to be taken to prevent such occurrences in the future. (EO/II/YE)

Erol Önderoğlu

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İstanbul Üniversitesi Fransız Filolojisi Bölümü'nden mezun. 1996'da muhabiri olduğu uluslararası Sınır Tanımayan Gazeteciler (RSF) örgütünün Türkiye temsilcisi olarak çalışıyor. 1999'dan beri İPS İletişim Vakfı'nın projesi olan bianet sitesinde, Hukuki Destek Masası koordinatörü, ifade özgürlüğü editörü ve yayın yönetmeni olarak çalıştı. 4.800'den fazla imzalı haber ve makalesi bulunuyor. Bizim Gazete ve Güncel Hukuk dergisi için haber ve makaleler yazdı. Halen bianet'te Medya Gözlem Raporları'nı hazırlıyor.