Journalists in State of Emergency – 63

 
 
Authorities issued arrest warrants for owner and three staff members of opposition Sözcü newspaper as part of an investigation conducted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, news reports said on May 19.
 
The warrants were issued for arrests of newspaper owner Burak Akbay, manager of the newspaper’s website manager Mediha Olgun, Financial Affairs Manager Yonca Kaleli and İzmir correspondent Gökmen Ulu. Olgun was arrested by the police while Akbay was abroad.
 
The four are reportedly accused of “committing crimes on behalf of the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ),” as well as assisting attempts to “assassinate and physically attack the president and armed rebellion against the Government of the Republic of Turkey.”
 
Pro-government Sabah newspaper reported that charges against the four stemmed from publication on July 15, 2016 of the address and photos of a hotel where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was vacationing.
 
Ismail Yılmaz, one of the lawyers of Sözcü, said, on the other hand, that there were no arrest warrants for the four people. Yılmaz confirmed that Olgun was arrested but he said it might be in relation to a separate investigation, as there was no arrest warrant for Olgun as part of the current investigation.
 
Imprisoned Radyo Ses employee released
 
Journalist Fatma Ölmez, an employee of the shuttered Radyo Ses, was released on May 18 at the end of the first hearing of a trial in which she and 17 other imprisoned suspects appeared before a high criminal court in the southern province of Mersin.
 
Ölmez was arrested, and subsequently placed in pre-trial detention, as part of a nationwide crackdown on the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) members and supporters on December 12, 2016. She stood trial along with 23 other people, 18 of whom were imprisoned. All the imprisoned suspects including Ölmez and Human Rights Association (İHD) Mersin branch head Ali Tanrıverdi, were released pending trial at the end of the hearing.
 
Ölmez’s release brings down the number of imprisoned journalists, pending trial or serving a conviction, in Turkey to 165. The full list can be viewed here.
 
ETHA correspondent arrested
 
Pro-Kurdish Etkin News Agency (ETHA) correspondent Pınar Gayip was arrested in a police raid of her home early on May 19. News reports said Gayip was one of many people who were arrested as part of a sweeping operation across Istanbul by anti-terror police teams.
 
 
List of imprisoned journalists in Turkey
 
1          Abdulkadir Turay, DİHA reporter  
2          Abdullah Kılıç, Habertürk   
3          Abdullah Özyurt, Zaman reporter  
4          Abdulvahap İş (Freelance journalist)        
5          Abdürrahim Ersöz, Antalya 
6          Ahmet Altan  
7          Ahmet Memiş, Gazeteci, Haberdar news website 
8          Ahmet Metin Sekizkardeş, Zaman journalist         
9          Ahmet Şık, Cumhuriyet reporter    
10       Ahmet Turan Alkan, Zaman
11       Ahmet Yavaş, TRT (Erzurum)        
12       Akın Atalay, Pres. of Cumhuriyet Foundation Executive Board  
13       Alaattin Güner, Cihan media director        
14       Ali Ahmet Böken, TRT News coordinator   
15       Ali Aşikar – Azadiya Welat   
16       Ali Babür Boysal, Zaman page designer
17       Ali Bulaç, Eski Zaman columnist     
18       Ali Konar, Azadiya Welat bureau chief      
19       Ali Ünal, Zaman columnist   
20       Ali Yüce, TRT Radio broadcasts chief         
21       Arafat Dayan, Demokratik Ulus
22       Aslı Ceren Aslan, Özgür Gelecek     
23       Atilla Taş, Meydan columnist          
24       Ayhan Demir, Çaldıran News Agency
25       Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak        
26       Ayşenur Parıldak, Zaman, Haberdar          
27       Aytekin Gezici, journalist/writer     
28       Aziz İstegün, Diyarbakır Zaman representative
29       Bayram Kaya, Zaman reporter       
30       Beytullah Özdemir, Zaman Düzce bureau chief   
31       Burçin Dokgöz, former Zaman and Çorum reporter        
32       Bülent Utku, Cumhuriyet Foundation board member    
33       Bünyamin Köseli, Aksiyon magazine reporter      
34       Cebrail Parıltı, Anadolu Ajansı (AA) Derik reporter         
35       Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Journalists and Writers’ Foundation       
36       Ceren Taşkın, Hatay'ın Sesi 
37       Cihan Acar, Bugün reporter
38       Cuma Kaya, Zaman  
39       Cuma Ulus, Millet newspaper’s publications coordinator           
40       Deniz Yücel, Die Welt           
41       Emin Demir, Freelancer      
42       Emre Soncan, Zaman defense reporter     
43       Ercan Gün, Fox TV    
44       Erdal Süsem, Eylül magazine editor          
45       Erdal Şen, former Meydan managing editor        
46       Erol Yüksel (TRT News Department vice president))     
47       Erol Zavar, Odak magazine, owner and newsroom director        20.01.2007
48       Fahrettin Kılıç, Özgür Toplum        
49       Faruk Akkan, Cihan news agency   
50       Ferhat Çiftçi, Azadiya Welat Gaziantep bureau chief       
51       Fevzi Yazıcı    
52       Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Türksolu columnist           
53       Gurbet Çakar, Hevi women’s magazine     
54       Gültekin Avcı 
55       Güray Tekin Öz, columnist  
56       Habip Güler, Zaman reporter         
57       Hakan Aksel, TRT producer-director         
58       Hakan Ergün, Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem distributor    
59       Hakan Karasinir, columnist 
60       Hakan Taşdelen       
61       Halil İbrahim Mert, TRT (Erzurum)           
62       Hamit Dilbahar, Azadiya Welat columnist 
63       Hamza Günerigök, TRT        
64       Hanım Büşra Erdal, Zaman reporter and columnist        
65       Hasan Duman, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi distributor          
66       Haşim Söylemez, Aksiyon columnist           
67       Hatice Duman, Atılım newspaper’s owner and managing editor           
68       Hayati Yıldız, Azadiya Welat
69       Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group President       
70       Hülya Karakaya, Özgür Halk Managing Editor     
71       Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter       
72       Hüseyin Turan, Zaman columnist  
73       İbrahim Balta, Zaman business editor       
74       İbrahim Kareyeğen, responsible editor for Zaman          
75       İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter   
76       İdris Sayılgan, DİHA 
77       İlker İlkan, Azadiya Welat   
78       İnan Kızılkaya, Özgür Gündem Newsroom Editor
79       İsa Siyi, Haberdar     
80       İsmail Avcı, Zaman   
81       İsmail Efe, local press advisor in İzmir      
82       Kadri Gürsel, Editorial Advisor       
83       Kamuran Sunbat, DİHA Çukurova reporter (formerly)  
84       Kazım Kızıl, Kamera Sokak  
85       Kemal Sancılı, Özgür Gündem copyrights holder 
86       Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief        
87       Lokman Erdoğan, Çorum Manşet, owner  
88       Mahir Kanaat, BirGün, head of accountingn         
89       Mehmet Altan           
90       Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter        
91       Mehmet Dener, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief      
92       Mehmet Güleş, DİHA
93       Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter 
94       Mehmet Özdemir, Zaman columnist          
95       Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter         
96       Meşale Tolu, ETHA translater         
97       Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor     
98       Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM General Publications Coordinator         
99       Mizgin Çay – Radyo Karacadağ      
100     Muhammet Taşçılar, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief          
101     Murat Aksoy,former Yeni Şafak columnist
102     Murat Avcıoğlu, Zaman        
103     Murat Dağdeviren (Demokrat Gebze owner)       
104     Murat Sabuncu, Editor-in- Chief    
105     Musa Kart, Cartoonist          
106     Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor,  
107     Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine        
108     Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Cumhuriyet Foundation board member         
109     Mustafa Ünal, Zaman           
110     Mutlu Çölgeçen, Millet, newsroom coordinator    
111     Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman columnist       
112     Nadir Yücel, Çorum Yıldız (local) Editor-in-Chief 
113     Nedim Türfent,DİHA
114     Nizamettin İzgi (Batman Newspaper’s owner)    
115     Nur Ener, Yeni Asya 
116     Nuri Durna, TRT       
117     Nuri Yeşil, Azadiya Welat Dersim bureau chief    
118     Nurullah Kaya, G.antep Zaman representative    
119     Oğuz Güven, Cumhuriyet    
120     Oğuz Usluer, Habertürk former broadcasts coordinator 
121     Olgun Matur, Antalya local journalist        
122     Osman Yakut, Zaman Antalya         
123     Ozan Kaplanoğlu, Bursa Muhalif    
124     Ömer Çelik, DİHA news manager   
125     Ömer Oruç, Cihan newspaper        
126     Ömer Özdemir, Antalya eski Zaman muhabiri      
127     Önder Çelik, Cumhuriyet Foundation board member     
128     Özcan Keser (TRT reporter)           
129     Özgür Amed (Ethem Çağır), Özgür Gündem writer         
130     Özkan Mayda, Antalya reporter with Zaman        
131     Rabia Özkaya, Özgür Halk   
132     Ramazan Alkan, Yeni Akit reporter
133     Resul Cengiz, Denizli reporter with Zaman           
134     Sadık Demir – Radyo Karacadağ    
135     Salih Erbekler – Radyo Karacadağ 
136     Sami Tunca, Mücadele Birliği magazine Managing Editor           
137     Selman Keleş, DİHA 
138     Serhat Şeftali, Zaman regional bureau chief for the Med region           
139     Serkan Aydemir, Bitlis Aktüel reporter      
140     Seyid Kılıç, TRT News          
141     Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat Adana bureau chief        
142     Şahabettin Demir, DİHA reporter  
143     Şahin Alpay, Zaman columnist        
144     Şeref Yılmaz, Irmak TV        
145     Şerife Oruç, DİHA reporter 
146     Şirin Çoban, Azadiya Welat 
147     Tahsin Kürklü, Zaman – head of Logistics Department   
148     Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek 
149     Tunca Öğreten, former Diken editor         
150     Tuncer Çetinkaya, Zaman Antalya 
151     Turhan Günay, Chief Editor of Cumhuriyet supplement
152     Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist           
153     Ulaş Sezgin, ETHA reporter 
154     Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief      
155     Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief  
156     Vedat Beki, Sözcü
157     Vedat Demir, former Yarına Bakış writer  
158     Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter         
159     Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director
160     Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)          
161     Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website         
162     Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor   
163     Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor        
164     Zafer Özsoy   
165     Ziya Ataman, DİHA reporter