Heavy Punishments for Newspapers Reporting on Hostage Soldiers

The Van Chief Public Proescutor Yahya Akcadirci filed a criminal complaint against those newspapers breaking the broadcasting and publishing ban on the eight soldiers taken hostage and later released by the PKK in October 2007. The soldiers were arrested on their release and have been in military detention ever since.

Günlük Evrensel fined for interviews

Two representatives of the Günlük Evrensel newspaper have been penalised with an advance fine of a total of 40,000 YTL (around 12,070 Euros) because the newspaper printed interviews with the relatives of the hostage soldiers.

Responsible managing editor Mehmet Ugras Vatandas and accredited journalist Ahmet Sami Belek were fined 20,000 YTL each. The news item had been published in the 12 November edition, and the two had to make a statement in front of the Sisli Press Prosecutor Muhittin Ayata on 7 January.

The two journalists said in their statement: “We did not publish the exact statements of the arrested soldiers. We only wrote about the interviews with the families. Because it did not represent a crime, we published the article within the framework of press freedom.”

Other newspapers also fined

However, the statement did not prevent them from receiving a fine.

The newspaper’s lawyer Devrim Avci told bianet that the Sabah, Hürriyet, Milliyet, Zaman and Birgün newspapers had been served a 20,000 YTL fine each, too. (EÖ/TK)