Journalist Önal Threatened: The Day Will Come...

Journalist Yakup Önal, owner of the weekly Şarköy Sesi ('Voice of Şarköy) newspaper published in the Şarköy district of Tekirdağ west of Istanbul, claimed to have been threatened and insulted by Ali Bayraktar, President of the Şarköy Association for the Thoughts of Atatürk. Allegedly, Bayraktar, member of the municipality assembly governed by the Republican People's Party (CHP), verbally attacked Önal at a meeting of the Şarköy Municipality on 6 September.

In the issue of 11-17 August, the newspaper had reported about the conviction of Bayraktar because he had beaten his wife. The weekly brought the guilty verdict to the agenda in an article entitled "The CHP member and member of the Municipality Assembly was convicted for beating his wife".

Bayraktar: This misbehaviour will make his pen disappear one day

In the municipality meeting on 6 September, Bayraktar requested Mayor Süleyman Altınok, President of the Assembly, to admit him to the floor to inform the assembly about the news published about him in the local newspaper. Bayraktar was quoted as saying:

"A poor journalist of a local newspaper published in Şarköy reported about a verdict against me which was pronounced in April. This poor journalist, this rude man, mixed the issue with the name of my party. This person can make news but it is misbehaviour to intermingle this issue with the name of my party. He thinks he can write everything just because he has got a pen in his hand. The day will come when this misbehaviour makes the pen in his hand disappear. One day, this journalist will be put to a point where he understands what happened".

Journalist was expelled from assembly hall

It was announced that Bayraktar submitted a petition for a closed session after his speech. Subsequently, journalist Önal was expelled from the assembly hall by the votes of eight CHP members and three members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). In the closed session, Bayraktar apparently informed the mayor and the assembly members about the circumstances with his wife and the court decision.

When Altınok was asked why he gave room to a personal issue of an assembly member in a municipality assembly meeting and why he did not interfere against the insult of a journalist, the mayor replied: "One of our assembly members asked to be admitted to the floor before the meeting and we gave permission. Later on, he asked for a closed session and we unanimously decided in favour of the request. The journalist was expelled from the session".

Senior citizen Remzi Aşık who had attended the session to put forward a complaint, recalled: "I was at the meeting to express our worries about a certain matter. A member of the assembly asked the president for the permission to speak. The assembly member talked about a journalist who had previously reported about him in the local newspaper. His speech was full of threats and insults. I will testify on what I heard and saw in case this incident should be brought to court. Afterwards, I was expelled from the room together with the journalist".

Önal: He threatened me and the mayor did not interfere

Journalist Önal expressed his view as follows:

"We made news in our local newspaper about a trial that was concluded in April. He [Bayraktar] requested permission to speak in the assembly meeting. His complaint about the news in our newspaper was full of threats and insults. The mayor did not interfere. They expelled me from the assembly hall afterwards for a closed session". (EÖ/VK)