- The repression of the government led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not ceased in Turkey. The Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem, accused of “spreading PKK propaganda”, closed on August 16, according to ANF News. Police have sealed the newspaper’s office after arresting the journalists present. The newspaper was published today under the title “We will not give up”, repressions repression.
The AKP media reported that there was an order to close Özgür Gündem on 16 August. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Zana Kaya, condemned the decision in a statement: “Before the state of emergency, the newspaper has suffered several attacks. Taking advantage of the coup d’état of 15 July, the [Turkish] government is pursuing the democratic media of the opposition. The court’s decision to close Özgür Gündem is indicative of these attacks. We will defend people’s right to information until the end.”
After Kaya’s statements, the Turkish police raided the newspaper’s office and arrested, beating, both the journalists present and those present to support them. The sequence is shown in the following video:
Among those arrested was Zana Kaya herself. In addition, DIHA journalist Mesut Kaynar was also arrested by the police and the camera removed from the IMC television journalist who was giving the raid live.
Raids have also occurred in the homes of journalists who were not in the office and police have searched the office. In addition, they have orders to carry computers.
The Organization of Journalists (ÖGC) condemns what happened. The detainees are still in police stations and are expected to remain there until Friday.