News editor arrested for Tweets
IMC TV’s Hamza Aktan pens open letter to protest detention
03.05.2016
Masked and armed police stormed the residence of IMC TV’s news editor Hamze Aktan on charges of abetting terrorism. He was interrogated over Tweets including a request by the BBC for eye witness accounts about the actions of the security forces in the largely Kurdish city of Cizre. Though released from detention, Aktan still faces serious charges — and all because of his use of social media. In an open letter he protests being persecuted for merely exercising his rights as a citizen and a journalist.
Dear all,
I am a journalist based in Istanbul, with more than 15 years of experience in media and currently news director of IMC Tv since 2012.
On Saturday, the 30th of April, masked and armed police from the anti terror squad raided my flat in Istanbul and took me into custody.
Authorities conducting the interrogation accused me of spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization and trying to build public opinion abroad against interests of Turkey. These accusations were mainly based on a tweet I posted about the BBC's request to speak to Cizre residents.
During the interrogation I was also asked why did I retweet tweets of 4 journalists; Nurcan Baysal, Mutlu Civiroglu, Bekir Gunes, Zehra Dogan and one retweet from the news outlet Conflict News.
Following the interrogation I was sent to a court where the public prosecutor asked for my arrest. I was released under judicial control, pending trial.
I have to declare myself to the police station every two weeks. I will be arrested if I fail to show up.
Here below are the tweets in question that have led to this ordeal.
The first tweet was in English, others in Turkish:
Tweet 1: Locals and Kurdish politicians are calling on EU and UN to act as the situation has already reached to a very dangerous level.
Tweet 2: BBC asks for information and pictures from people who are currently in Cizre. Here are the contact details (of BBC).
Tweet 3: There is a state of emergency in Kurdish cities. People get killed on a daily basis, the truth is being hidden. And we are constrained to rely on Anadolu Agency and the daily Star for news.
Tweet 4: All dirty tricks from the 90's are being implemented; Interior Minister Altınok says around 5 thousand village guards to be recruited.
You can find attached to this mail pictures of my tweets in question.
My phone, two computers and a flash disk were seizured by the police. I'll not able to use them for a while. You can reach me for now only via email.
Here are also links to news stories about my case…
* https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkey-detains-pro-kurdish-news-editor-over-tweets-002818986.html
* http://www.france24.com/en/20160430-turkey-detains-pro-kurdish-news-editor-over-tweets-channel
* https://www.cpj.org/blog/2016/05/turkey-crackdown-chronicle-week-of-may-1.php
Best regards,
Hamza Aktan