Journalists Union of Turkey Protests Arrest of Journalists in Front of Courthouse

"Journalism is not a crime"

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28 journalists have been taken into custody and eight journalists have been arrested in Turkey over the past 15 days.

Staging a protest in front of İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan today (March 10), the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) denounced this recent wave of detentions and arrests targeting journalists in the country.

Opening a banner that read "Journalism is not a crime" in front of the courthouse, the journalists called out to Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül and demanded the release of their arrested colleagues.

'Journalists have been made a target'

Addressing the reporters during the protest, TGS İstanbul Branch Chair Banu Tuna indicated that journalists were made targets due to the developments in foreign policy. Tuna underscored that journalists who do nothing but strive to make sure that truths can reach the society have been declared as criminal. Tuna briefly stated the following during the protest:

"Journalism is a profession that is practiced to protect public interests. The aim of journalists is not to protect the interests of power holders or a single segment of society, but to protect the interests of the society as a whole.

"Journalists who would go and depose themselves if they were summoned by phone are detained with their houses raided. They are released from detention, just to be arrested one day later on the same allegation. In these days when the law is trampled upon, we - as journalists - demand justice.

"We want justice because we write not for our own interests, but for the interests of the country. We want justice because journalism is not a crime.

"We are making a call to Minister of Justice from here: We want all our colleagues arrested due to their journalistic activities to be released as soon as possible. Everyone will need the law and justice one day."

Durmuş: What changed in one day?

Taking the floor after Tuna, TGS Chair Gökhan Durmuş also said:

"Though it is written 'Justice Palace' on the building just behind us, we know that the verdicts of arrest given for journalists are not legal decisions, but political ones.

"While our four colleagues were released on the same charge one day before, what changed that they were arrested one day later? What evidence could the prosecutor collect while objecting one day later? How did something that was not a crime one day ago turn into a crime one day later?

"When we take all these into consideration, we can say it quite clearly that journalism is under a political attack.

"I want to make the following call to the Minister of Justice: Let justice palaces work impartially and court boards give judgements with their own free wills so that press freedom can be established in Turkey.

"So long as you give these judgements as a result of pressures from above, we cannot establish press freedom or democracy easily." (HA/SD)