Government continues to harass dissident journalists

Duvar English

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has once again targeted a journalist over a report revealing nepotism within the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Black Sea province of Trabzon.

Soylu slammed journalist Saygı Öztürk on Twitter, calling him and his report “an enemy of honor.”

“I’m doing my duty as a human,” Soylu said on June 18 with a link of the report in daily Sözcü.

Öztürk reported how a man rose to a high-level position after marrying now-deputy Bahar Ayvazoğlu.

According to Öztürk, Ali Ayvazoğlu began working at a low-level position at a company under the Trabzon Municipality. He was also working as a guard at the time.

Bahar Ayvazoğlu was employed as a secretary in a district AKP branch at the time.

Ali Ayvazoğlu began visiting the branch frequently and married Bahar Ayvazoğlu after divorcing his wife. Bahar Ayvazoğlu was appointed AKP provincial women’s branch head shortly after.

In 2014, Ortahisar Municipality was formed in the province and Ahmet Metin Genç from the AKP was elected mayor. Even though he already had an assistant, he employed Ali Ayvazoğlu for the position.

Strikingly, İsmail Kansız, who had been Trabzon’s Culture and Tourism Provincial Directorate head for 20 years, was removed from his duty to be replaced by Ayvazoğlu.

In 2015, Bahar Ayvazoğlu was elected deputy and moved to the capital Ankara. To prevent herself from being apart from her husband, Ali Ayvazoğlu was appointed to Ankara Culture and Tourism Provincial Directorate.

According to Öztürk, Ali Ayvazoğlu won’t be on the said position for long and will be appointed to a higher position.

Minister Soylu, who on May 18 targeted journalist Müyesser Yıldız – who was arrested a short while later – on Twitter, praised the Ayvazoğlu couple, while saying that he will deem anyone addressing Öztürk “a partner in being an enemy of honor and dignity killer.”

Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) slammed Soylu’s remarks, calling on him to “know his place.”

“You can’t insult a journalist just because you don’t like the report Mr. Soylu. Know your place,” the union said on Twitter.

Turkey, where journalism is a high-risk occupation

Two dissident Turkish journalists, Ismail Dukel and Muyesser Yildiz, had their digital materials seized and were detained over allegations of military espionage early in the first week of June, adding their names to more than 100 colleagues who are held in detention on trumped-up charges.

The news came amid a new crackdown on media in Turkey, which is ranked as one the top jailers of journalists worldwide.

Yildiz, the Ankara bureau chief of the pro-opposition ODA TV news portal, and Dukel, the Ankara representative of TELE 1 TV channel, were taken into custody following investigations by the Ankara Prosecution Office.

No details were disclosed about which nations they were spying for, or the alleged spying activities they were conducting.

However, pro-government newspaper Sabah claimed that Yildiz spoke to a military personnel 29 times by her own phone — sparking debate about whether the phone callings of journalists are wiretapped.

“The Mafia is free outside, the gangs are outside, the harassers are outside, the scammers are outside, the killers are outside, the thieves are outside, but journalists and politicians are kept inside,” said Alpay Antmen, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Three other journalists from ODA TV have been held since March over a report about the identity of two Turkish spies killed in Libya, despite their names being revealed in the Turkish parliament a week earlier.

“The arrest of a journalist who could have given his testimony upon invitation from a prosecutor doesn’t and shouldn’t exist in democracies,” said Merdan Yanardag, chief editor of TELE 1 TV, adding that the detentions were meant to threaten independent media in the country.

Yildiz, who was fined for a story she wrote in March, was a vocal critic of the government, which she accused of mishandling counterterrorism efforts.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu responded to her work, claiming she is “pro-PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) terror group.”

He said: “What I am disappointed in is not your affection for the PKK, but the fact that you’re doing business with those in the state.”

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe reported on May 22 that there were 95 journalists jailed in Turkey, more than in any country in the world.

Press in Arrest, a volunteer group monitoring investigations and trials of journalists, recently released its Press Freedom report for May.

“Although court hearings were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, prosecution of journalists and fines on critical news outlets continued in May,” the report said.

It added that debates about press freedom turned around the penalties imposed by the Radio and Television Supreme Council and Press Advertisement Institution, more than the criminal prosecution of journalists.

“However, having become the government’s instrument of oppression, the judiciary continued to prosecute journalists relentlessly,” the report added.

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Published By: Atilla Yeşilada

GlobalSource Partners’ Turkey Country Analyst Atilla Yesilada is the country’s leading political analyst and commentator. He is known throughout the finance and political science world for his thorough and outspoken coverage of Turkey’s political and financial developments. In addition to his extensive writing schedule, he is often called upon to provide his political expertise on major radio and television channels. Based in Istanbul, Atilla is co-founder of the information platform Istanbul Analytics and is one of GlobalSource’s local partners in Turkey. In addition to his consulting work and speaking engagements throughout the US, Europe and the Middle East, he writes regular columns for Turkey’s leading financial websites VATAN and www.paraanaliz.com and has contributed to the financial daily Referans and the liberal daily Radikal.