Ekrem DUMANLI: I am a journalist. Journalism is not a crime. | Zaman Newspaper скачать в хорошем качестве

Ekrem DUMANLI: I am a journalist. Journalism is not a crime. | Zaman Newspaper

"I am a Journalist" [SUBTITLE Options: English, French, German and Arabic.] [Click on the icon for settings and choose the language you want] ZAMAN... Turkey's best-selling newspaper, with a circulation of around 1 million and with thousands of employees… On December 14, 2014… Any comment? No turning back from democracy! I was taken into custody in a police crackdown at my newspaper’s headquarters three days before the anniversary of the large corruption scandal. That same day, other journalists, soap opera producers, scriptwriters and actors were detained as well. I was placed in a cell at the police department, and kept there alone without being interrogated for 80 hours. I was accused of publishing news stories that victimized an organization which I had never heard of before and which I later learned was pro-al-Qaida. According to the claims, the police launched a crackdown on this group five years ago after news stories and articles appeared in the media about them and found weapons… Similar news stories and articles were published by several pro-government newspapers in the same time period. But, oddly enough, none of their editors were summoned. The prosecutor charged me with establishing and leading a terrorist organization. I was asked about news articles and columns that appeared in the Zaman newspaper even though they have nothing to do with the case. As the prosecutor interrogated me, I understood that the source of all the accusations against me was the two columns and one news article. And I didn't write any of them. Because I found this hard to believe, I asked the judge, “Does the entire body of evidence against me include only a news article and two columns?” “Yes,” the judge replied unmistakably. I will be tried on charges of leading a terrorist organization. I am banned from traveling abroad. And what an odd coincidence that all of this took place on the first anniversary of the graft and bribery scandals that went public on December 17 and 25, 2013, in which four ministers were implicated! Dozens of dissident journalists have lost their jobs in recent years. Media bosses are suffering from financial pressures exerted on them by the ruling party. Advertisers are directly threatened. Unfortunately, freedom of the press and freedom of expression are severely threatened in Turkey. Zaman readers, NGOs and international organizations stood with the Zaman daily and its Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanli against injustice. I am a journalist. Journalism is not a crime.