YASEMİN DİKİCİ
Journalists have drawn attention to the attack on journalist Sinan Aygül in the Tatvan district of Bitlis, saying it is a continuation of the state-sanctioned incidents that developed against journalists in the '90s. Journalist Sinan Aygül, who wrote about the corruption occurring in the Tatvan municipality, has been attacked by the guards of Mayor Mehmet Geylani, one of whom is a police officer. The reactions continue. Journalists, who have been working in the region for years and have been subjected to similar attacks, claimed that the fear policies applied in the '90s are intended to be revived with the upcoming local elections.
Gökhan Durmuş, President of the Turkish Journalists' Union (TGS), pointed out that we are entering a period where attacks on journalists are increasing. Özgür Öğret, the Turkey representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), also stated that what happened is the result of impunity policies. 'Attacks on journalists have increased' Gökhan Durmuş, President of TGS, who expressed that we are going through a period where the dose of pressure and attacks on journalists has increased, reacted to the incident with the following statements: "For years, the government has been running a policy that targets, discredits, and criminalizes journalists. All journalists who make news from mainstream media to local media, who announce the truth to the public, have been under pressure in recent years. Sinan Aygül, the President of the Bitlis Journalists Association, has also been subjected to pressures such as detention, arrest, trial, and threats due to the news he made for some time. However, the attack carried out on Sinan Aygül the other day was carried out under the protection of security forces with the intention of killing. A police officer who is obliged to protect the journalist, the citizen of this country, has directly protected the assailant. The situation is similar for the other attacker. It is, of course, gratifying that those who have the courage due to the impunity of attacks on journalists for years are arrested. However, what needs to be discussed is the Mayor. This attack made by the mayor's guards should never be accepted by the Ministry of Interior and the Governorship of Bitlis. The Mayor should not be able to get away from this incident by saying, "I didn't know, I was in Ankara." The steps that the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice will take in this case will determine whether new attacks on journalists will occur. In the attack on Sinan Aygül, not only Sinan Aygül was beaten, but the right of the people of Bitlis to receive news was also beaten. Press freedom is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. This right is a right obtained after long struggles. We want everyone to know that we will not allow a few attackers to eliminate this right."
'Impunity increases attacks on journalists'
Journalist Sinan Aygül was the target of a cowardly ambush on Saturday. Thanks to the existence of camera records of the incident and the effect of social media, two suspects who carried out the attack were arrested in a short time, which can be seen as a positive first step for Turkey, where we are unfortunately used to the fact that violence against journalists results in impunity. Authorities need to thoroughly investigate the attack and ensure that all perpetrators related to the incident are prosecuted, and we will follow up on this.
'We are going back to the '90s'
Journalist İdris Yılmaz, who pointed out that the recent history of Turkey is filled with unsolved and state-sanctioned murders, highlighted that the attack on Sinan Aygül is similar to many opposition journalists being killed in the '90s. Yılmaz stated, "What happened is similar to these unsolved incidents. If the images of the violence against Sinan Aygül had not been revealed, the identities of the perpetrators and the evidence would have been hidden with the methods we are used to. Looking at the people who carried out the attack, one is a police officer, one is a relative of the mayor who works in a state institution and a municipal employee. Hospital reports also reveal that they beat him to death, and this is an attempted murder. Sinan Aygül has previously been threatened in his reports. He is a colleague who has suffered from the misinformation law that has come into effect. Sinan Aygül is a journalist who deserves praise. While such journalism is rewarded in other countries, in our country the reward for this is either prisons or judicial squeeze and ultimately the attacks we have witnessed."
