HAYRİ DEMİR
In a case involving journalists Yıldız Tar, Deniz Nazlım, and Sibel Yükler, who were beaten and detained for allegedly participating in an illegal act by wanting to protest the arrest of 16 journalists in Diyarbakır, the Ankara Governor's Office reported that, contrary to the indictment and the summary prepared by the police, there was no ban decision regarding the press statement.
After the prevention of a press statement intended to show solidarity with journalists arrested in Diyarbakır on July 5, 2022, in Ankara, it came to light that there was no prohibition decision by the Ankara Governor's Office regarding the said statement. In the trial of the journalists, who were beaten and detained, the Ankara 71st Criminal Court of First Instance received a letter from the Ankara Governor's Office, which was requested by the court to clarify if there was any ban on the press statement titled "We gather for the arrested 16 journalists" for the journalists arrested in Diyarbakır.
Police: Illegal act
The indictment, prepared based on the police report regarding the journalists, had claimed that information was obtained indicating that an illegal act would be carried out through social media posts calling for the press statement. The indictment also noted that the journalists were detained for participating in the statement deemed illegal and for disrupting the ordinary flow of life.
Governor's Office: No ban decision by our governorship
However, the letter from the governor's office to the court stated that there was no ban decision regarding the press statement. The letter from the governor's office stated: "Upon reviewing the indictment documents; as of the date 07/05/2022, there is no ban decision given by our governorship regarding the press statement event titled 'We Gather for the Arrested 16 Journalists' that took place at the Ulus Atatürk Monument on 07/05/2022."
Despite the complaints filed against the police officers related to the beating and detention of the three journalists, and the medical reports of assault obtained, no action was taken.
The first hearing of the case was postponed to April 25, following the decision to write to the Ankara Governor's Office and add the uninterrupted camera footage of that day to the file.
