Aziz Oruç
Bianet reporter Tuğçe Yılmaz experienced police violence while covering the Newroz celebrations in Istanbul, claiming she was severely assaulted by police officers who continued to beat her even after she identified herself as a journalist, accusing her of being part of a terrorist event. The incident occurred on March 17 at the Yenikapı Rally Area in Istanbul during the Newroz celebrations. Bianet reporter Tuğçe Yılmaz and Ali Dinç were subject to police brutality. Police also attempted to detain Kurdish editor Aren Yıldırım, and AFP photojournalist Eylül Deniz Yaşar was briefly arrested before being released.
Initially, Yılmaz was prevented from filming by police officers citing a filming ban. Despite identifying herself as a journalist, she was forcibly taken to the ground, with officers pressing on her throat and assaulting her. This continued in front of the cameras, despite her repeated assertions of being a journalist.
Recounting her ordeal to the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), Yılmaz described it as torture.
"I was about to leave the area when I heard noises from a police checkpoint where I was waiting to retrieve my confiscated belongings. My colleague Ali Dinç and I approached the site to find police forcibly detaining several citizens. As we began recording the abuse and torture, we faced verbal and then physical attacks from the police. I managed to partially record the attack directed at me, despite the police choking me. While trying to document the torture, I experienced it firsthand.
At one point during the police intervention, a commanding officer said, 'Don't arrest them,' which I didn't hear. Perhaps that's why they suddenly stopped and returned my phone as if nothing had happened. They primarily used physical violence against me; when I said I was a journalist, they responded, 'What journalist? You're part of a terrorist action!'"
Yılmaz believes this statement reflects the current government's and police's view of independent journalists and media. She relates it to the attitude reinforced by former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu. "If you're covering actions by Kurds, the Democracy Party, LGBTI+ communities, or any other group that the government dislikes, you're automatically positioned against the authorities. They feel justified to inflict any form of violence, including torture. In the end, I faced a horrific attack simply for doing my job, and it wasn't just an assault or intervention. Despite telling them I couldn't breathe, the police continued to choke me, increasing the intensity of the violence," Yılmaz added.
Yılmaz continued, "I obtained a medical report documenting the blows to my head, neck, and back. I am experiencing severe pains in my neck and back due to the attack and am taking regular medication. Along with my organization and union, I will pursue the necessary legal processes and follow them to the end.
'Such attacks won't deter us from our work'
Highlighting the intolerable hostility towards journalists, Yılmaz stated, "They don't want human rights violations, ill-treatment, and torture to become public knowledge. Especially during certain groups' actions, they attack both the crowd and journalists more severely. The government is conducting a terrible process of arbitrary detention and arrest, particularly against Kurdish journalists. However, none of these attacks will deter us from our work, nor will they succeed. Our profession and human-rights-focused journalism are being criminalized, and we won't allow this."
