AMED - DFG announced its report on rights violations against journalists in 2022. Stating that 39 journalists were arrested and 76 journalists were sentenced, DFG said: "A tough year of struggle awaits us."

 

Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) has released its 2022 Report on Rights Violations Against Journalists. In the report published on the association's website, the evaluation was made for the year 2022, "Unfortunately, we have closed 2022, which we entered with the hope of a year in which freedom of press and expression will be ensured, with a different picture". In the report, which stated that the government increased the war in all areas, it targeted the opposition during the year as well as the journalists and the journalism profession to consolidate its seat, and underlined that the AKP, contrary to the promise of European Union standards, took steps to completely abolish the freedom of press and expression in a 20-year period. Pointing out that the pressure on journalism increased in 2022, the report said: "The Turkish state took the biggest of these steps, which meant killing journalism, in 2022."

 

'65 JOURNALISTS WERE ATTACKED'

 

Emphasizing that it is possible to see that the government stinks of the truth, looking at the violation data in the report, which was organized under 5 headings, DFG was reminded that journalists working in the field were the first target of police attacks.

Stating that the journalists were beaten by the police during the news follow-up and they were prevented from taking videos and photographs, DFG said: "The police's threat of death by pulling a gun on journalists in Van. journalists were prevented from following the news 132 times during the year and 65 journalists were attacked."

 

'76 JOURNALISTS WERE SENTENCED LIFE IMPRISONMENT'

 

In the report, it was stated that investigations were launched against 68 journalists during the year, 65 of them turned into lawsuits, and in the ongoing trials of 810 journalists, one of the 76 journalists was sentenced to life imprisonment, the others were sentenced to a total of 181 years, 6 months and 22 days in prison, and 8 million 105 thousand 707 TL in fines. In the report, it was stated that although there was no warrant for the confiscation of Xwebûn newspaper, the only newspaper broadcasting in Kurdish in Turkey, its distribution was blocked, many of its issues were confiscated, and the owners of the companies carrying the newspaper were threatened during its distribution.

 

'KURDISH JOURNALISTS WERE TARGETED'

 

Reminding that 39 journalists were arrested within the scope of the investigations carried out against journalists, the report said: "27 free press workers were arrested in the last 6 months. On 8 June, 20 of them were detained along with 22 other journalists, 16 of them were arrested, and DFG Co-Chair Serdar Altan is among those detained and arrested. During the detention of journalists, their equipment was confiscated, and production companies were searched for 30 days. The second operation against journalists was carried out in Ankara and that 11 journalists were detained under torture in this operation, '9 out of 11 journalists were arrested on October 29, once again trying to undermine the Kurdish journalists' struggle to reveal the truth. Our association was tried to be criminalized by asking our friends who appeared before the judge, along with their news, why they became members of our association."

 

3 JOURNALISTS WERE KILLED

 

The report said: "One journalist was killed in Turkey, Federated Kurdistan Region and Northern and Eastern Syria during the year. Güngör Arslan, who was killed, was targeted because of the corruption news. On 4 October, the Jineology Academy Member and journalist Nagihan Akarsel was commissioned by the MİT to murder Akarsel in the city of Sulaymaniyah in the Federated Kurdistan Region. Hawar News Agency (ANHA) reporter Isam Ebdullah lost his life during the air strikes."

 

STRUGGLE CONTINUES

 

Emphasizing that journalists insist on continuing their profession against all pressures, the report used the following expressions: “Despite all obstacles, from censorship to the prevention of news follow-up, from arrests to murders, journalists resisted all attacks in 2022. All journalists, especially free press workers, showed that the truth cannot be darkened by holding their pen and camera on the side of the truth in the face of the government's attacks of 'killing journalist'. As journalists, a tough year of struggle awaits us as journalists for the freedom of the press and expression, as well as the right to receive information, in 2023, when the attacks increase as the election calendar approaches.”