DFG Co-Chair Dicle Müftüoğlu says that attacks on journalists target society as a whole, while lawyer Gökhan Küçük emphasizes the need to pursue all legal steps

FERİD DEMİREL

The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office decided not to prosecute three separate complaints filed by journalists Heval Önkol, Ceylan Şahinli, Dilan Kartal, and Medine Mamedoğlu regarding police violence they encountered while reporting in 2024. Despite the visual evidence submitted in the files, the prosecutor's office closed the investigations on grounds such as “insufficient evidence” or “the suspects could not be identified.”

Dicle Müftüoğlu, co-chair of the Dicle Fırat Journalists' Association (DFG), states that this situation has become the norm: "In recent years, pressure and obstruction against journalists have become routine. Almost every journalist who goes out into the field knows they will be obstructed.”

Müftüoğlu's statement that this has become ”the norm" is supported by data. In the first three months of 2025, at least 13 journalists were attacked, 12 of them during social protests by security forces.

According to bianet's Media Monitoring Reports, the number of attacks, obstructions, and threats carried out by the police and, at times, the gendarmerie over the past five years (2020-2025) has exceeded 200. In 2021 alone, at least 56 journalists were directly exposed to violence in the field, and in 2022, 53 journalists were subjected to violence.

Moments of crisis and protests: Areas where violence intensifies

Behind these figures lie dozens of incidents that have taken place during social events and moments of crisis across the country. In particular, actions where political tensions are high are the moments when violence is most intense.

More than 10 journalists covering the nationwide protests in İstanbul following the arrest of İstanbul Mayor and CHP’s presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu were subjected to police violence. Anadolu Agency reporter Hakan Akgün's nose was broken in a punching and kicking attack; AFP photojournalist Yasin Akgül sustained bruises on his legs and back; Reuters reporter Dilara Şenkaya was injured on the head; former bianet reporter Ali Dinç was injured on the knee and head; İlke TV reporter Eylül Deniz Yaşar was severely affected by tear gas fired at close range; and freelance photojournalist Kemal Aslan was also injured on the head. BirGün newspaper reporters Deniz Güngör and Ebru Çelik were subjected to police violence. Çelik was injured in the leg by a plastic bullet while covering the protests in Saraçhane on 21 March. Among those attacked were Akit TV reporter Serkan Okur, freelance journalist Rojda Altıntaş, and Özgür Gelecek reporter Yusuf Çelik. Jan Devletoğlu, a member of the Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC) and freelance reporter, was prevented from taking photographs in Saraçhane by security forces, and the photographs he had taken were forcibly deleted from his camera.

From victim to defendant: the case of Bülent Kılıç

One of the most symbolic examples of the policy of impunity was the case of AFP photojournalist Bülent Kılıç. Kılıç, who was pinned to the ground and had his throat pressed by police while covering the 2021 Pride March, was jailed. He was acquitted in the trial of the police officers he had complained about, hitting a wall of justice. Worse still, Bülent Kılıç was himself charged with “resisting a public official” and put on trial. This case demonstrated that the system not only protects the perpetrators but also aims to deter victims by punishing them.

Müftüoğlu: “The aim is to obscure the truth and silence voices”

According to Dicle Müftüoğlu, the underlying purpose of this routine situation is to prevent public awareness of social protests or demands for rights: “The aim is to prevent social action or the voices of those who speak out from reaching the public. For example, by blocking protests against femicide, the public is prevented from learning about this issue.”

Müftüoğlu emphasizes that these restrictions are not arbitrary but are carried out “in accordance with special instructions from the governor's office and the Ministry of the Interior.” The methods used on the ground are becoming increasingly harsh:

"The most common situation is trying to prevent cameras from filming by police using shields. Journalists are fighting against these shields with tripods and monopods. As tension and violence increase in the environment, violence against journalists also increases,” says Müftüoğlu, noting that the intervention is not limited to obstruction: “During beatings, cameras and video cameras are damaged, which prevents news coverage. In cases of detention, equipment is confiscated and may not be returned even after the trial is over."

A direct attack on the public's right to information

Every journalist who is pushed back by police shields, has their camera broken, is doused with water from a water cannon, held in a cordon for hours, or prevented from accessing justice by a prosecutor's decision, is actually a victim of an attack on the public's right to information.

Müftüoğlu warns that these attacks are not only directed at journalists personally, but directly at the profession itself and, consequently, at society, and makes the following remark: "What is happening is a serious problem that requires public reaction and support for journalism and journalists. Attacks against journalists are not only directed at them personally, but also at their profession and the public's right to information."

Legal protection and journalists' rights

Lawyer Gökhan Küçük says that this quest for justice, which has been turned away at the door of the prosecutor's office, is not the end, and emphasizes that the legal struggle must be continued with determination, recalling an important principle: “Freedom of the press is not an individual privilege granted to journalists, but rather a guarantee of the public's right to information. Journalists fulfill a special function as the public's watchdog and, because of this position, deserve special protection.”

Küçük draws attention to a precedent-setting decision on how this protection can work: the Constitutional Court's decision on journalist Beyza Kural. Just like in Diyarbakır, Kural's complaint was dismissed by the prosecutor's office. However, the case was brought before the Constitutional Court and resulted in a precedent-setting victory. The Constitutional Court ruled that the law enforcement authorities' disproportionate intervention violated freedom of expression and the press, as well as the prohibition of treatment incompatible with human dignity.

Gökhan Küçük outlines the legal path available to journalists who are subjected to police violence:

"First, it is necessary to appeal the decision not to prosecute and follow the criminal proceedings to the end. If this proves fruitless, once domestic legal remedies have been exhausted, there is the right to file an individual application with the Constitutional Court. In addition, another option is to file a lawsuit for material and moral damages against the administration to which the officers who committed the violence are affiliated."

Finally, Küçük noted that this incident also constitutes a work accident, adding that the journalist can apply to the Social Security Institution to benefit from the relevant rights.