Letter to jailed journalist Nedim Türfent found ‘objectionable’

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Media and Law Studies (MLSA) Project Coordinator Aslı Ece Koçak sent a letter to journalist Nedim Türfent, who was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to 8 years, 9 months in prison though 12 of 13 people who gave witness statements against him said that "they did so under torture." The letter has been found 'objectionable' by the Van High Security Prison Administration.

As reported by the MLSA, Koçak asked Türfen about his prison conditions in the letter, informed him about the developments in Turkey, including the protests against the rector appointment to Boğaziçi University.

Koçak also attached an article by Gazete Duvar Editor-in-Chief Ali Duran Topuz titled "A history of the command to look down". The prison administration has also found this article drawing a parallel between Türfent's "You will see the Turk's power" news and the camera footage of "Look down" objectionable. Türfent has objected to the prison administration's decision.

'Objectionable' remarks in the letter

As reported by the MLSA, in the related part of the letter that was not given to journalist Nedim Türfent, Aslı Ece Koçak wrote:

"As you have probably followed, a mass student's movement has started after a trustee was appointed to Boğaziçi University. In the first days of the protests, one of the police officers unlawfully admitted into the campus told a student 'Look down, look down.' In response to this incident, a solidarity has formed around the expression 'We won't look down', everyone has started to share this expression on social media.

"After this incident, Ali Topuz, in his column at Duvar, wrote about this incident by comparing it with your video-news 'You will see the Turk's power.' I am sending this article titled 'A brief history of the command to look down' dated February 2, 2021 in the attachment. Drawing such an organic connection between this incident that happened in August 2015 and our current situation today is very important to think the atrocity targeting a citizen in Hakkari in parallel to the atrocity to a Boğaziçi University student."

(EKN/SD)