PRESS FREEDOM

Journalist Barış Sözal from Sabah newspaper and his driver Ali Kocatepe were arrested at Sabiha Gökçen Airport on Istanbul's Anatolian side. After 8 hours in detention the gendarmerie released both of them. Sözal and Kocatepe had come to the airport for gathering information for a news item. bianet talked to Ertuğrul Erbaş, intelligence chief at Sabah newspaper. Erbaş explained that the 2 men had been detained for "secretly taking photographs in a military area".

"The newspaper's lawyers are on the matter. It is not yet decided whether they are going to take legal action", Erbaş added.

According to yesterday's (16 November) issue of Sabah, dummy soldiers had been installed at Sabiha Gökçen Airport to 'keep watch'. The newspaper reported about dummy soldiers with false weapons hung around their necks, positioned on the watch towers.

The newspaper article was entitled "Lead Soldiers at Sabiha Gökçen", pointing out the weakness of the security at the airport, claiming that the duty of protection had been left to dummy soldiers.

Detention despite press card

Despite showing his press card, Sözal and his driver were arrested "in an area which is open to the public and not forbidden to enter".

After being released, Sözal and Kocatepe were brought to the police directorate within the Sabiha Gökçen Airport Gendarmerie to be interrogated. (EÖ/BÇ/VK)