Tankut Serttaş, a worker at Sendika.Org, targeted for reporting, announced a legal fight against the attacks they are facing. The first step will be a press conference at the General Headquarters of DİSK Basın-İş on March 6, inviting journalists and the public to stand in solidarity
Pınar Gayıp
Sendika.Org, a media organization that has faced access blocks 62 times during its 23-year history, is now targeted over a years-old news report about Charlie Hebdo. The pro-government Yeni Akit newspaper and HÜDA-Par General Secretary Şahzade Demir have singled out Sendika.Org and Basın-İş, which has shown solidarity with them.
The case stems from the infamous attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's Paris office on January 7, 2015, which killed 12 people. This attack followed a hate campaign against the magazine for depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sendika.Org, along with several media outlets, reported on Charlie Hebdo's cover post-attack, leading to an access ban by the Gölbaşı Peace Criminal Judgeship on February 27, 2015. These outlets appealed to the Constitutional Court, which on February 27, 2024, declared the censorship a violation of freedom of expression and lifted the bans.
Yeni Akit's coverage led to parliamentary call to action
Following the Constitutional Court's decision, Yeni Akit ran a headline accusing Sendika.Org of despicable actions, and on March 1, HÜDA-Par General Secretary Şehzade Demir in Parliament referred to the lifting of the ban as an example of unprotected moral values, calling for immediate action. Demir also accused Basın-İş, which supported Sendika.Org, of disrespect.
Sendika.Org editor Tankut Serttaş explained their response to the attacks in an interview with MLSA. He emphasized that many media outlets had reported the same story, and the Constitutional Court's decision was based on freedom of expression. He also noted that the targeting of Sendika.Org by Yeni Akit and HÜDA-Par followed a trend of rising provocations and Islamism in the political atmosphere, normalizing "Sharia defense" and marginalizing secularism.
Serttaş warned of increasing threats
Serttaş highlighted the danger of escalating attacks, with journalists being physically assaulted and social media lynching campaigns leading to arrests. He pointed out that Sendika.Org's editorial board members' names were published in a lynching campaign. Serttaş emphasized that these kinds of targeting do not only affect Sendika.Org but also pose a threat to all opponents, secularists, and free speech advocates.
Legal action to follow
Serttaş reflected on the numerous threats, police raids, detentions, trials, prison sentences, fines, and access blocks they have faced since 2001. He mentioned that their strength came from the social opposition, labor movement, resistance movements, and fellow journalists fighting for press and freedom of expression. He announced that Sendika.Org would initiate legal proceedings against these threats and called for support at the press conference on March 6 at DİSK Basın-İş. Serttaş stressed the importance of collective resistance and overcoming barriers together in the face of these threats.
