Turkey’s repression of media turns violent
In the wake of a brutal attack on a Turkish journalist, few believe the official story of a traffic altercation as political violence ravages the country.
“Sharing what you witness, what you know is a matter of honor in our profession. But writing and speaking come at a price,” wrote Yavuz Selim Demirag, a veteran columnist in a recent esaay for the right-wing conservative Yeni Cag. Two weeks later, on May 10, Demirag, a fierce critic of Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was attacked outside his Ankara home by a group of men wielding baseball bats, baying “kill him, kill him” before fleeing in a stolen vehicle. Demirag remains in a military hospital recovering from a concussion, bruises and a swollen eye.
Six of the seven perpetrators were detained by authorities only to be freed a day later on the grounds that the journalist’s injuries were not life threatening.
During their interrogation, the assailants claimed they got into a fight with Demirag over a traffic incident. Few believe this version of events.
Ozgur Ogret, the Turkey representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said, “This organized attack against a journalist which mercifully did not result in death is not only criminal but represents an indisputable assault on press freedom.” Ogret told Al-Monitor, “I would like to remind the authorities that the failure to punish violence against journalists will lead to grave and incontrovertible consequences and smooth the path to similar attacks.”
