Prosecution Request Journalists' Material on Hopa Unrest

The Public Chief Prosecution of Hopa (eastern Black Sea coast) sent a writ to all press and publication outlets and institutions and requested them to forward their entire published and unpublished footage and pictures of the anti-government demonstrations in Hopa on 31 May before, during and after the public meeting of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The prosecutor's office also demanded their complete visual materials related to the funeral of protestor Metin Lokumcu.

Lawyer Sevinç Hocaoğulları told bianet that the pictures of the funeral "could be used as evidence". The Contemporary Journalists Association (ÇGD) announced, "It is not the duty of journalists to inform the judicial authorities about the pictures they have or to forward these to the authorities".

Facing legal action in case of refusal

According to Radikal newspaper, the letter was signed by Public Prosecutor Nihat Hırka of the Hopa Public Chief Prosecution Preparation Office. The recipients have ten days to abide by the request or to give a reason why they are not able to do so while fixing another date until when they are going to follow the request the latest. Otherwise, they will have to face legal action due to a breach of Article 257 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK).

13 people who attended the protests before the public meeting of PM Erdoğan in Hopa (Artvin) were arrested by order of the Erzurum Special Authority Court. 20 people were arrested in the scope of an investigation launched by the Ankara Special Authority Public Prosecutions after demonstrations in the capital. The protestors in Ankara took the streets after retired teacher Lokumcu had died of a heart attack as the result of the massive use of tear gas in Hopa.

Lawyer Hocaoğulları explained the prosecution's request: "Investigative authorities hold the authority to collect evidence. The prosecutor's office can make such a request during an ongoing investigation. However, I have no idea how they are going to find 'evidence for a crime' at a funeral ceremony".

"Ali Başpınar was the co-founder of the [now defunct] Alliance and Solidarity Association of all Teachers (TÖB-DER). People who attended his funeral on 6 September 2008 were accused of 'propaganda for an illegal organization'. There was no special investigation opened about the funeral. The same thing can happen now. We observe that people who attended funerals and commemoration ceremonies face this kind of allegations", Hocaoğulları indicated.

"Prosecution should fulfil their duty"

The ÇGD issued a statement on the letter of the prosecution and stated that "this cannot be the duty of a journalist.

"The prosecutor must know that journalists are not police officers who are paid to act as agents for the prosecutor's office staff or the judicial authorities. The journalists are covering dozens of incidents per day and in most of them violence is involved. It is not their duty to inform the judicial authorities or hand their pictures over to them", the ÇGD claimed.

"Article 257 TCK quoted by the prosecution for the journalists who refuse to forward their pictures regulates "misconduct of office" related to public officials. This matter added to the letter reveals how the state officers see the journalists".

"According to the Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities of Turkish Journalists, journalists reject all sorts of pressure and they cannot take any instructions related to their work from anybody but their managers. We recommend the prosecution to use the police forces subordinate to them for investigating evidence if there is an offence and not to load that duty on the press members", the ÇGD concluded. (AS/VK)